


Acing It

by Arinalle Fanirei (ShakyHades)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Characters, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, I've been told that there is dangerous levels of, Luna and Cindy are Noctis' and Prompto's wingwomen, M/M, Mutual Pining, Noctis is not a prince, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, beware the slow burn-induced frustration, oblivious dorks, only the finest Softé boys for my readers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-07-29 11:23:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16263206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShakyHades/pseuds/Arinalle%20Fanirei
Summary: “It” being romantic attraction, which they are in factnotacing, even though theyareaces.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing this since June. It started as a little thing to celebrate the pride month and then it... spiralled out of control. I have no idea how to contain myself.  
> This is 100% Softé and I've yeeted most of my interests into the boys to give them something to do as they pine and drop hints ;)  
> The fic is already finished, and I'll post the second part next Wednesday. Enjoy!

“Hey Noct,” Prompto says suddenly, in a pensive tone, from his current spot on the floor of Noctis' living room.

Noctis only hums in acknowledgement and continues to scroll down on his social media app, feeling too lethargic to do anything else.

“Isn’t it kind of amazing how us ace peeps -- I mean, queer folks in general to be honest -- always manage to find our equals?”

Noctis turns his head to the side in response, a wide smile surging on his face and laughter bubbling up. “Dude, didn’t we have this conversation already? Or am I confusing that with the talk about this same subject you had with Iris, like, _three_ days ago?” He laughs at Prompto’s exaggerated groan of distress.

“Ugh, man, leave me be! I just was thinking about this lately and now I can’t get it out of my head!”

Noctis laughs again, finding the energy to switch to lying on his side in order to see Prompto properly.

“Alright then, talk and get it out of your system.”

“‘Kay so, one of the biggest examples of this is the two of us, being aces and all. Then there’s Ignis, who is a demi like you -- though he is demisexual instead of demiromantic -- but you guys can still bond over it. And there’s also Aranea and Iris for my pan self, and Gladio and Luna are like, bi buddies.”

“All this just reminds me of that post, I’m sure you’ve seen it before -- proposing alternatives to ‘gaydar’? Like bi-fi, pan scan, ace trace?” Noctis says with a chuckle, and Prompto laughs.

“Kinda like that, yeah! I just can’t stop thinking about how incredible it is that we just flock together without even _knowing._ ”

Noctis pauses to genuinely consider it for a moment, staring at the coffee table and mindlessly fiddling with his phone. ”I don’t know -- maybe we subconsciously recognize something of ours in them? Like the way we react to something, or a mannerism that when considered as a whole makes us want to be closer to them?”

“That’s… a super neat way of thinking about it, yeah. Hard to believe that our brains would do us such a solid, though,” Prompto says, and both of them snort.

“I know, right? We’re so used to it giving us shit that when it actually works for the best we get surprised.”

“Yeah.”

Their conversation lulls to a stop, and Noctis dozes off as Prompto stares at the ceiling, quietly thinking about whatever. A few minutes later, when Noctis is right on the edge of truly falling asleep, Prompto taps his forehead, making him groan in annoyance.

“Hey dude, can we order a pizza?”

Noctis makes a noise of disgruntled assent. “ _You_ do it though,” he mumbles, turning his back to Prompto and settling deeper into the sofa for a nap.

His friend only laughs and ruffles his hair affectionately, and then Noctis is off into dreamland.

 

x

 

The clock reads 01:17 on a Thursday.

On that particular day, the time means that Prompto has been meaning to go to bed for around two hours and counting so far, and Noctis keeps laughing out loud in his dark and quiet room when they say their goodbyes only to pick up the subject again three minutes later.

Prompto’s half rambling, half complaining about the latest episode of a show he watches, and Noctis stays mostly silent, only interrupting to ask for clarification or comment on a certain plot point. Noctis had dropped the show literal _years_ ago after some bad decisions from the writers, while Prompto had continued to watch it out of some sort of morbid curiosity, as he’s prone to do. Noctis doesn’t mind listening to Prompto talk about it, however -- it’s amusing to hear how much the quality has dropped since he lost interest.

Prompto sends nearly a screen-full worth of emojis and Noctis snorts, turning on his side and adjusting the blankets so that they keep covering all but his head and hands. Soon enough, Prompto is sending messages in all caps, and Noctis has absolutely no difficulty in imagining the way he must be at that moment: sitting on his bed, nearly jumping off it in fact, arms vibrating with the effort to stop them from flailing just so that he can keep typing.

 _'God, you're such a dork,'_ Noctis begins to type in the chat box, grinning at his phone and shaking his head. _'I can't believe I'm in lov--’_

Wait.

**_What??_ **

Where did _that_ come from? Noctis slowly lowers his phone, eyes wide. His mind is racing at a speed that nearly breaks the sound barrier, and he feels a breakdown incoming fast.

_When did this happen??_

Noctis shuffles through his memories -- remembers nights spent lazing around with a game or a movie, afternoons in which Ignis and Gladio managed to join them in whichever plans they had for the day; even the mornings spent looking at the same bored teacher for nearly three hours straight in high school, already nearly two years behind them. He’s looking for a shift of some kind, after which he started seeing Prompto as more than just his best friend -- a precise moment in which his brain decided that _yes, Prompto Argentum is worthy of your romantic attraction_ \-- but he comes up empty.

It baffles him. Noctis can do little else than turn to lie on his back again and stare at the ceiling; his phone dark at his side.

Having finally noticed it, Noctis can go through some of their moments together with perfect hindsight: the deep _fondness_ he frequently felt around Prompto, especially when the boy was nerding out; or the urge to just reach out and mess his hair up and pull him close with an arm around his shoulders, all while laughing at his protests.

“Ah, fuck,” Noctis says into the quiet space of his bedroom. “I’m really in love with him, aren’t I?”

Noctis turns in bed once more, flat on his belly now to bury his head on a pillow. He’d scream at it, but the shock and the relentless butterflies that have decided to take up residence in his stomach rob him of his energy to do so. As a consequence, he only maintains that position as his brain enters crisis mode.

An absolutely unknown amount of time later, Noctis has an idea and quickly fumbles for his phone. He leaves Prompto’s chat without even reading the latest messages, and goes straight to Luna’s -- praying that the seven hours of difference between the Insomnian and Tenebraean time zones will mean that she’s already awake and potentially ready to deal with his meltdown.

 

 **Noctis:** luna

 **Noctis:** luna are you awake i need your help

 **Luna:** I’m here! I would wish you ‘good morning’, but it’s nearly 3 am there. (๑`^´๑)

 **Luna:** What do you need help with? ୧(๑•̀ㅁ•́๑)૭✧

 

Noctis turns the phone in his hands, trying to decide how to phrase it -- how to make her understand the weight of this realization. In the end, he decides to go right to the point; rip the band-aid off in one go.

 

 **Noctis:** i’m in love with prompto

 **Luna:** （・□・）

 **Luna:** I’m guessing this is a recent discovery?

 **Noctis:** _very_ recent

 **Luna:** Finally! ٩(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و

 **Luna:** I had started to wonder if you’d ever realize it. (￣▽￣)ノ

 **Luna:** Teasing aside, are you alright?

 **Noctis:** i guess??

 **Noctis:** not quite sure how to feel about it, or what to do with this information

 **Luna:** [ •́ ‸ •̀ ]

 **Luna:** Well, love is a beautiful thing, and I’m sure that being in love with Prompto must be an especially interesting experience due to his very bright and active personality. ( ˊᵕˋ )♡.°⑅

 **Luna:** So at least for the how to feel about it part, I’d say to try and look at this discovery more positively?

 **Luna:** As to what to do with it… Think about it for a second and tell me what you think you could do.

 **Noctis:** i could always just ignore it? pretend that i had no epiphanies tonight and just try to stay as we are

 **Luna:** Or? (｡•́︿•̀｡)

 **Noctis:** or i could maybe…

 **Noctis:** i don’t _know_ , try to drop some hints and see how he feels, and possibly make things awkward forever?

 **Luna:** What makes you reject the possibility of him returning your feelings?

 **Noctis:** the fact that i never noticed anything that could point to that in all our five years of friendship even though prom will get a crush on at least 80% of the population?

 **Noctis:** like, only shitty people aren’t crushed on by prompto

 **Luna:** Well then, given that you are not a shitty person, and based on your own words, it would be quite fair to believe that Prompto has or at least has had a crush on you at some point. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

 **Luna:** And if he had one in the past but never nurtured it, what stops you from reawakening it now? (･ω <)

 **Noctis:** HKBKLBLL

 **Luna:** o((*^▽^*))o

 **Luna:** I mean, you don’t exactly have a great track record of realizing people have crushes on you...

 **Noctis:** luna oh my six

 **Luna:** Or realizing you have a crush on someone, for the matter.

 **Noctis:** stop

 **Luna:** I really think you should at least _try_ to see if he’d be open to it.

 **Noctis** : but how the hell would i even know if he would??

 **Luna:** Well, do some things and see how he reacts! Test the waters! Be more affectionate than usual, and see if he feels uncomfortable with it, or if he is receptive to the extra attention. Maybe let yourself smile more often when he’s near or looking at you.

 **Luna:** It’s also important to see if he’s receptive in a friendly way or in a more… tentative? way. If he only sees it as the first, you might have to step up your game. （。＞ω＜）。

 **Luna:** I didn’t get where I am with Nyx now by doing nothing~ (*´꒳`*)

 **Luna:** In the end, _you_ decide what you’re going to do, but I really advise you to pursue this. I have a feeling you two would be very happy together. (♡ ὅ ◡ ὅ )ʃ♡

 **Noctis:** …thanks, luna, for listening and for the advice. i think i’ll just sleep on it for now

 **Luna:** It was no problem! My chat will always be open for you, so never hesitate to ask for my help. (っ˘з(˘⌣˘ )

 **Luna:** Good night, and may your dreams be pleasant!

 **Noctis:** night, luna

 

Noctis sighs and rubs his eyes, feeling drained but not quite ready to sleep. He connects his phone to the charger and exits Luna’s chat, pausing for a moment before tapping on Prompto’s.

 

 **Prompto:** dude i just _can’t believe_ they did it. like i know it’s been Bad for a while but,,,, how stupid are the writers, to do this???

 **Prompto:** it’s so far from his character, he fought so hard against it and stood by his decision no matter the cost and now he just says _yes?????_ JDKDSSJAKDL (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

 **Prompto:** i’ve continued to watch this show through so much shit but this is nearing last-straw point, i stg.

 **Prompto:** welp, you’ve been offline for a couple minutes so i’m guessing you fell asleep

 **Prompto:** which is something i should have done two hours ago

 **Prompto:** no time like the present, am i right?

 **Prompto:** night, noct!

 **Prompto:** (ɔˆ ³(ˆ⌣ˆc)

 

Noctis can’t help but stare at the kissing kaomoji -- he is absolutely unable to tear his eyes away now that he _knows_ he’s in love with Prompto. His friend has sent him variations of it countless times over the years, but seeing it now makes _something_ burst free inside his chest and start a riot in his ribcage.

He thumbs the lock button and the screen goes dark, but the emoji refuses to be forgotten -- he wonders how it would feel like, if it had played out in real life; wonders if Prompto’s lips would feel soft against his cheek, or maybe against his own lips--

Noctis puts the phone under the pillow his head is resting on and takes another to hug while he rolls in bed, hoping the movement will purge these sudden images from his brain. When that fails, he curls up and hides his surely blushing face in the pillow, with both his heart and his brain racing.

 _I’m so screwed,_ he thinks to himself in a solemn tone. _He’s gonna come over this weekend, how the hell am I gonna look at him without making a fool of myself?_

Noctis groans and turns again, to be able to look at the clock -- 03:49, it shows -- and goes back to his original position, still clutching the chosen pillow like a lifeline.

_I wonder how it would be like, if we were dating…_

_Damnit, Luna,_ he thinks with a mental sigh. _Damn you for managing to give me hope…_

His ability to sleep under any circumstances holds true even as his heart tries to beat its way out of his chest, and between one blink and the next, Noctis is out like a light.

 

x

 

Saturday arrives, and Noctis tries not to have a meltdown while he waits for Prompto to arrive. He usually leaves home after having lunch, and it’s barely an hour after midday; there’s still some time until he gets to Noctis’ apartment, due to the distance between their places.

Thursday and Friday had been… interesting, to say the least. Noctis could not for the life of him stop thinking about Prompto -- his grin, his easily excitable nature, the way the light would catch at his blond hair as well as bring out his freckles; the way they could just _exist_ around each other in total comfort, as evidenced by their regular sleepovers and get togethers that had started way back in high school and were still happening at least bi-weekly to this day.

It wasn’t difficult to hide all that through a text conversation though, so Noctis was certain that Prompto had no inkling of the low-key crisis currently happening with him.

Concealing such thoughts with Prompto _right there_ at his side, however, was something completely different. Astrals help him.

Noctis was already trying to come up with excuses to use, though without much success. How _could_ he explain the sudden bouts of blushing and awkwardness, and still be able to do so without making Prompto think it’s because he did something wrong?

The distinct vibration of the messaging app they all use pulls his attention, and Noctis unlocks his phone to a new message from Prompto himself.

 

 **Prompto:** arriving at your building now ୧(˃◡˂)୨

 **Prompto:** u best be awake to receive me!

 

Noctis would normally scoff or smile at such a message, but this time he is so busy trying to not spontaneously combust that he does neither.

 _He’s arriving, in a few minutes he’ll be here with me and oh six I’m going to have a heart attack_ , Noctis screams internally, giving in to the urge to pace around, hoping that it will manage to calm him down.

Prompto’s characteristic knocking pattern sounds out, and Noctis actually does smile out of habit. It goes a little shaky around the edges once he remembers he’ll have to open said door and that doing so will bring him face to face with Prompto and all his sunshine disposition, so Noctis isn’t completely sure he can handle that. But he can’t just leave the boy standing outside, so Noctis takes a deep breath, then another, and goes to open the door.

Even all his previous mental preparation doesn’t stop him from being one hit KO’d by what he sees on the other side: Prompto Argentum, cheeks flushed and hair windswept -- Noctis remembers that the weather forecast predicted wind today -- with his usual overnight bag hanging from a shoulder and a brilliant grin on his face.

Noctis’ heart stops and restarts as his brain provides him with the fitting sound of a machine whirring loudly, hard at work. He blinks, dumbstruck, for around three seconds before hitting himself mentally and opening the door wider to finally let the boy in.

“You alright buddy? Looked a bit out of it right there for a sec,” Prompto says with a slight frown that lasts a millisecond before the grin returns. “Are you even awake yet, Noct? Can we add sleepwalking to the list of strange shit you do?”

Noctis scoffs derisively and punches Prompto’s shoulder, making his smile even wider. Meanwhile, Noctis’ brain short-circuits in consequence of the casual touch.

“So, any news for us to freak out about before we do anything else?” Prompto asks airily, dropping his bag beside the sofa before dropping himself on it.

“Yeah, there’s been a new trailer showing more of yet another world for KH3; they released it overnight,” Noctis says remarkably evenly, taking his laptop from the coffee table and turning it on. He’s glad Prompto asked such a question; it gives him something else to focus on, a way to settle back into their usual familiarity.

“Man, they’re on a roll, aren’t they? Months of silence and now -- what, three trailers already? What world is it for, by the way?”

“Pirates of the Caribbean.”

“For _real??_ Port Royal is gonna be in KH3??? Oh man, I gotta see this,” Prompto says, nearly bouncing in place as Noctis gets the link to the video.

Noctis, meanwhile, tries not to jump when Prompto scoots closer and their arms touch -- close enough for the blonde to be able to see the screen properly, but _hopefully_ not close enough for him to hear Noctis’ heart go haywire.

The video starts and Prompto leans in, eyes glued to the screen. Noctis tilts it more to his side, since he’s already watched it. He looks at Prompto with the corner of his eyes -- partially to see his reaction, and partially to die a little over his countless freckles.

Noctis starts to smirk when the trailer nears its end, already predicting Prompto’s reaction to the following scenes. And as he expected, as soon as Kairi finally shows up, Prompto screams. Then, only a few seconds later, _Riku_ shows up in all his beautiful HD glory, and Prompto downright _screeches._

Noctis would be lying if he said that didn’t hurt, close to his ear as it was, but his wince is replaced by a laugh once Prompto jumps up from the sofa and starts running around the living room, screaming incoherently about Riku, the Replica, and Kairi.

A few minutes later, Prompto throws himself on the sofa again and stares directly at the ceiling, still trying to process the trailer.

“They’re all so beautiful,” he says with a hint of wonder. “Beautiful, beautiful HD babies, I love evolving technology -- Sora is _gorgeous,_ Riku’s gonna give me a heart attack and Kairi is the cutest thing ever, oh my Six.”

Noctis chuckles and sets the laptop back on the coffee table. “I can’t wait to play it, but at this point I just don’t trust any release dates they give us,” he says.

“Agreed, but it’s still nice to have one at all.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

They fall into comfortable silence, and Noctis takes out his phone to start fiddling with the apps he has installed. Prompto has a tendency of going deep in thought while staring at the living room’s ceiling -- much like during their little talk about queer radars a week before -- and Noctis finds it amusing as hell.

And now, the way Prompto will just forget the real world while immersed in one of those thinking sessions gives Noctis the perfect staring opportunity: with Prompto so out of it, Noctis can drink his fill of the sight and store it in his heart forever.

“Anyway, what’s on the ace agenda for today, Noct?” Prompto asks suddenly a while later, grinning up at Noctis who tries to keep his soul from leaving his body.

“There’re the three episodes from Boku no Hero Academia we have backlogged -- which I’m absolutely sure will break us emotionally -- and the Black Panther blu-ray that _finally_ arrived on Friday,” Noctis answers, managing to keep his tone level by some miracle.

“ _Hell yeah_ dude I’m ready to rest in fucking pieces,” he says. “I’ll go grab us a box of tissues while you set everything up.”

Noctis laughs and connects the laptop to the TV, the first episode already queued up and ready to go. He waits until Prompto deposits the tissues on the coffee table and gets comfortable on the sofa again before turning to look at him.

“You ready for this?” Noctis asks, with a raised brow and a finger hovering over the touchpad -- the cursor ready over the _play_ button in turn.

Prompto takes a deep, calming breath, and nods resolutely. “As I’ll ever be, buddy.”

 

x

 

Four hours, quite a lot of tears and ugly sobbing, and a Black Panther rewatch later, the boys decide it’s eating time. They move into the kitchen to raid the fridge and pantry, talking about TV shows as Prompto whips up something for them to eat.

Noctis’ heart has mostly quieted down by then. This is _familiar,_ something they’ve been doing for literal years; it’s _so_ easy for them to fall into their banter; to work together in the kitchen or at a game. It does wonders for Noctis’ nerves to know that his discovery won’t change these moments at all.

They go back to being sprawled on the sofa after eating, scrolling through their social media and merely existing together. The open balcony door lets a cool breeze circulate through the apartment, and it’s peaceful enough that Noctis begins to seriously consider a nap.

“Hey Noct, since serious gaming is all but out the question given that we’re still processing the ending of our latest adventure, what do you say about going out tonight?”

Noctis side eyes him, making a show of slumping his shoulders. “Where are you thinking of?”

“Nowhere specific, to be honest? We could just drive around, catch some pokemons, get a few pokestops and hatch some eggs.”

Noctis gives the idea some thought. It _had_ been a while since they had really gone out to hunt for pokemon, and the day had been lazy and sluggish up to that point. If they stayed in the apartment, cooped up with no big RPGs in progress to hold their focus, they’d get antsy and restless.

So he nods in agreement. “Alright then, get ready. I think we’ll drive around town for around an hour and then go to that park that is full-on pokestop heaven.”

Prompto lets out an excited _whoop!_ and Noctis chuckles.”You’re the best, Noct!! What would my account be without you,” he says and mimics wiping a tear, making Noctis laugh and bat his arm away.

“You only want me for my car, and thus, my ability to drive wherever the pokemons show up,” Noctis counters.

Prompto makes a show of being shocked and both of them dissolve into laughter. Once Prompto stands up, Noctis extends an arm to him, wordlessly requesting assistance to get up. Prompto gives it with a roll of his eyes as Noctis yawns and stretches once he’s back on his feet.

He ignores the way his arm tingles from Prompto’s touch and goes off to his room to get a light jacket just for precaution. Prompto is standing near the front door when he comes out, all ready and with Noctis’ car keys  at hand.

“Let’s go catch some pokemons, you dork.”

“ _Yeah!_ ”

 

x

 

“You know, sometimes I think about it and I get like _super_ honored that you trust me and my abilities enough to let me catch pokemons for you,” Prompto says out of the blue as they drive down one of the busiest boulevards in Central Insomnia. They are avoiding the late afternoon traffic by going deeper into the city instead of out to the periphery, watching all the Saturday workers go back to their homes after a long shift on the other side of the street.

“I trust that you know that if you screw up and lose a rare pokemon on my account, you’ll be found dead in a ditch the next day,” Noctis says nonchalantly, deciding on which streets to take to get the most pokestops and the least traffic.

“Cold, but also completely untrue. You love me too much to do that to me. Good try though, buddy!”

Noctis nearly chokes on air, using all his brainpower to keep the wheel steady and his reaction unseen. He hears sirens go off inside his head, and is immensely grateful for the setting sun behind them since it provides low lighting that partially conceals his surely fire-red face.

“Yeah, right,” he attempts to bite back, four seconds too late and with a voice too strangled to sound very convincing. Prompto doesn’t seem to care, happy as he is with both of their phones on his lap, alternating between them to catch most of the pokemons that spawn nearby.

They spend close to an hour driving around, taking the longest route to the closest pokestop heaven, also known as Phoenix Park. It takes them a while to find a parking spot, and it ends up being farther away from their usual starting point than would be ideal, but they shrug and agree that it’ll only mean more kilometers for their eggs.

They’ve gone pokemon hunting in this particular park enough times to have decided on a set route to use while walking around; one they can repeat over and over without encountering a pokestop still on cooldown. Even after two years of the app’s release, there’s still a fair number of people visibly playing it aside from them, reminding them of the excitement-filled days when it first launched in Insomnia.

From time to time, Prompto halts them to pet a cute dog out on a walk, their owners always laughing at his excitement while Noctis holds both phones and watches him with fondness.

This entire day is proving to be a true test to Noctis’ heart -- he’s lost count of how many times he felt as if it was fit to burst, or the times in which it nearly flat-lined, only to restart thrice as fast as it had been before. Noctis would not trade this day for anything in the world, however; even with all the sudden crises and near-death experiences, he would cherish this feeling for the rest of his life.

They tire of pokemon hunting after close to one and a half hours of walking around, and start making their way back to the car, their phones’ batteries considerably lower.

“Noct, I’m getting hungry -- we should have dinner somewhere!”

Noctis’ mind immediately jumps into screaming ‘ _date! date!’_ , and he has to beat it with a stick until it’s quiet again before responding. “Where? Crow’s Nest?”

“Mmm _nah_ , I wanted something more like a proper meal,” Prompto says, swinging his arms back and forth. “Hey, I remember your dad mentioning a restaurant the last time we all got together- where was it again? I think it was on a corner of Somnus Avenue, near the Frostbearer Gallery?”

Noctis makes a noise of understanding. “That small, family-owned Italian place, right? Sure, we could go there if you want,” he shrugs.

“I think it would be nice! Your dad said it had a cozy atmosphere and great food, and it’s always good to go somewhere new,” he says, ending it in a singsong voice.

It isn’t very difficult to find the restaurant, with the help of a GPS. From what they can see through the front window, it seems to live up to its reputation of being homely, so they park and cross the street to venture inside.

Noctis and Prompto smile when they hear a bell and soft music as they open the door; the man and woman near the counter turn to look at them with grins on their faces.

“Welcome to Biagotti’s!” the woman greets, walking to them. She blinks a few times in apparent shock for a moment while looking at Noctis, before shaking her head faintly and smiling again. “Table for two, gentlemen?”

“Please,” Noctis nods, puzzled by her behavior. She leads them to a table close to one of the walls and waits until they sit before giving them the menu.

“Pardon me for my rudeness,” she starts, facing Noctis. “But you reminded me of someone. Are you the son of Regis Lucis Caelum, by any chance?”

Noctis and Prompto exchange surprised looks -- Regis had said he hadn’t visited the restaurant in many years, so her still remembering him left them stunned -- before turning back to her.

“Yeah, he is my dad,” Noctis confirms, and the woman beams.

“How wonderful! My, it’s a shock to finally meet you, and an adult already! Regis and Aulea used to come here frequently, you see, and they would stay up to very late. We’d end up sharing stories about our children, but they never had the chance to bring you here. A few years later, Aulea passed, and Regis stopped coming by… Oh, but what am I saying; bringing the mood down like this! I apologize for the sudden rant. I’ll leave you to choose your meals -- when you’re ready to order, just ask for me -- Ornella -- and I’ll come around,” she says and then walks off to the counter.

Noctis and Prompto look at each other, their eyes still a bit wide, and nearly start laughing at each other’s faces. That whole situation had managed to beat the chorus of ‘ _it’s a date!_ ’ -- that had started again once Noctis saw the restaurant’s decoration -- back to the ground. It was certainly a strange situation, but the outcome was not wholly unwelcome; Noctis was also curious about what the staff could tell him about his mom.

“I’m really impressed she still remembers your dad and also that she was able to correctly guess you were his son after one glance, dude,” Prompto whispers while leaning closer, mindful of the place’s echo.

“I am too. They must have left quite the impression to still be remembered nearly two decades later.”

“I kinda wonder why your dad stopped coming by, but it must have been because of the memories. Maybe we could tell him of tonight and see if he wants to come back?”

“Maybe. Even if he says no, it will probably be nice to know he’s still remembered.”

With that out of the way, they finally look at their menus to pick what they’re going to eat. A few minutes later, with their meals decided, they wave to Ornella and she approaches with what seems to be her default smile. She diligently writes their order on an old-fashioned notepad, and raises her head to study them.

“Noctis, correct?” she asks, and Noctis nods. “And yours, if I may ask?” she turns to Prompto.

“Prompto,” he answers with a small smile.

“Would you like any drinks while waiting?”

“Just water, please,” Prompto says.

“I’ll be sure to bring it shortly,” she says and walks away.

While they wait for the food to be done, two other couples arrive and sit down. Noctis and Prompto talk in quiet tones, adding to the white noise of the restaurant. Noctis won’t lie and say that his heartbeat is at a completely normal rate, what with the whole restaurant all but _screaming_ ‘perfect place for a date’ right at his face, but he manages to distract himself by falling into routine. They’ve eaten out countless times before, be it at Crow’s Nest after an afternoon at the arcade or at a pizzeria with the others, and Noctis will be damned if he makes it awkward _now_.

So they joke around and talk about the things they do when they’re not attached at the hip; they eat and discuss whether to get dessert or not, and if yes, which one to get. They decide on the first thing with chocolate in it that sounds good, and Ornella laughs freely at their enthusiasm and thanks them for the praise.

Prompto takes longer to finish his piece, wanting to savour it fully; so Noctis shakes his head fondly and gets up to pay their bill.

The man at the counter grins as Noctis approaches. “Have a nice date, kid?” he asks in a teasing tone, and Noctis nearly trips on his own feet and falls flat on his face.

“Oh shush!” Ornella says at his side, slapping his arm with, by the sound of it, quite some strength. “Don’t embarrass him! How many times must I tell you stop meddling?”

“Um,” Noctis opens his mouth, absolutely sure that he’s blushing.

“Please forgive Vinicio, my dear, he doesn’t know when to stay quiet. Did the two of you have a nice meal?”

“Ah- yeah, it was delicious,” Noctis stutters, a bit dazed and wondering if he should ask what’s on his mind. “Er, do we… look like a couple?” he asks tentatively, voice pitched low and resisting the urge to check Prompto’s current location.

“Yes,” Vinicio responds without the slightest hesitation, earning another resounding slap to his arm. “Ow, woman, he asked!” he says, but Ornella simply huffs. “But I’ve also seen enough couples in this restaurant to be able to perceive that you’re not quite there yet, though _you_ particularly are head over heels.”

“ _Um_.”

Noctis tries to not imagine his face melting off, because it currently feels as hot as a star’s corona must be. Ornella leaves Vinicio’s side to fetch Noctis a glass of water, which he presses to his cheeks in a futile attempt to cool them down.

“Let’s proceed to the payment already, alright? Your boy seems to have finished and is looking over here, waiting for you.”

Noctis only nods, in fear of somehow having a vocal keysmash instead of proper words coming out of his mouth if he attempts to speak. Ornella touches his shoulder once that’s done, and Noctis looks down at her gentle face.

“You and that boy can come here whenever if you want to hear about Aulea, alright? I’m sure you must be curious to hear more about her, and we would be more than happy to tell you some stories. And about your situation with Prompto, don’t worry; your father wasn’t all that different from you and it worked out for him, didn’t it? We’ll be happy to help another generation of your family get together with your chosen partner,” she says, ending it with a cheeky wink that makes Noctis’ face go up in flames all over again.

“W- we’ll talk about it; t-this is a really nice place. And yes, I’d love to hear more about mom the next time,” he says, a bit strangled at the beginning but calmer at the end.

“Wonderful! Now go to him, he seems a bit restless already.”

Prompto smiles up at him once he’s close enough, getting his fidgeting under control. “Hiya buddy! Took quite some time to pay that bill, huh?” he teases, and Noctis rubs the back of his head.

“Sorry about making you wait.”

“Nah it’s cool. I guessed that you might want to talk with them about your mom, so I decided to hang back and give you guys some privacy.”

Noctis wants to say that there was no need for that. That Prompto was more than welcome to hear those stories as well; to learn about her just as Noctis does. It doesn’t feel like the right time to say such a thing, however -- it feels a little too serious and heavy, so Noctis keeps his mouth shut on the subject.

“All done, not forgetting anything?” he asks instead, patting down his own pockets as Prompto looks over the table a last time.

“Nope, everything’s on me,” Prompto says and stands up.

Ornella is near the door, and catches their attention one last time. “Thank you for your patronage, boys! I hope to see you again soon!”

“Thank _you_ for your lovely service and delicious food!” Prompto says with the same amount of enthusiasm, and Noctis gets the distinct impression that she would be pinching Prompto’s cheeks if she could.

They exit the restaurant, pulling their jackets closer to their bodies in response to the bite the wind has acquired. Noctis looks at the sky, noticing the heavy clouds forming up and coming closer.

“I guess we’re in for quite the nightly storm,” Prompto hums at his side as Noctis unlocks the car.

“Yeah, and we might as well have a first row seat to it, with how high my apartment is,” he says, somewhat wryly, and Prompto snorts.

“It’s good that we went out today then! It seems like we wouldn’t be able to do so had we waited for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, it is, and it does.”

A quick cursory look at the dashboard to see if everything checks out and they’re off onto the night, finally going back home.

 

x

 

True to their predictions, the downpour starts in the wee hours of the morning, and the day dawns with the sun hidden behind thick clouds. It’s still raining steadily when they wake up around eleven, and it’s quickly decided that they’ll only leave their cocoons for food, bathroom, or to reallocate to the sofa.

There is a special dungeon on King’s Knight that only opens on Sundays, filled with the best craft materials one could ask for, so Noctis manages to convince Prompto to move from the futon to the bed, doubling the amount of blankets on top of it and allowing them to strategize better. He tries not to think about how Prompto is so close that he could just turn to his side, lean forward a bit and be able to kiss him -- those thoughts won’t help them defeat the terrible boss waiting for them, so they are shoved into a box and kicked away.

It’s nearly half past midday once their growling stomachs manage to get them out of bed. Lunch consists of reheated leftovers from Ignis, who insists on piling food onto Noctis, claiming that he will never eat properly otherwise. Noctis and Prompto are certainly _not_ complaining.

The bed still retains some of the previous warmth when they return to it, and they game some more before inevitably falling back asleep. The four blankets they have on the bed do the job of protecting them from the chill quite well, and they drift off in toasty-warm cocoons.

Early evening is dedicated to marathoning the first TV show that manages to catch their attention, with snacks covering the coffee table alongside a small bowl of popcorn that’s set on the sofa between them. Noctis sometimes watches Prompto instead, taking in the sleep-mussed hair and the faintest marks on his cheek left there by the pillows.

Prompto meets his eyes a few of those times; catches Noctis looking at him with what is probably a dumb smile on his face, and every time that happens, he blushes a little and turns back to the TV, a shy smile curling his lips.

At this point, Noctis would be completely fine with no kissing -- he would be perfectly happy with just nuzzling Prompto and hearing him laugh because of it; or even have Prompto laying his head on Noctis’ shoulder, possibly while they held hands. And it’s such a quiet, peaceful day that he doesn’t even stress about all these little daydreams; it takes all his energy to keep himself from just _doing_ those things, consequences be damned.

He’s happy to notice that he’s putting one of the things Luna advised him to -- namely smiling more -- in motion without conscious thought, as well. Noctis reasons that all those feelings that bubble up in his chest whenever he looks at Prompto need to be expressed physically in _some_ way, or else he might as well explode.

Noctis could totally go for another nap, so he uses that as an excuse to do something quite daring. His heart rate spikes as he takes the popcorn bowl so as to set it on the coffee table, and Prompto looks at him questioningly as he scoots closer.

“May I?” Noctis asks once he’s nearly horizontal, head hovering above Prompto’s lap. Prompto, in turn, blushes bright red, but nods shyly after a couple seconds of pondering.

Noctis softly drops his head on Prompto’s thighs, almost immediately closing his eyes and bringing the blanket closer to his body. After a moment, Prompto raises a hand and starts caressing his hair; Noctis hums and opens one eye to peer at him, seeing that Prompto has a small, soft smile lighting up his entire expression.

Noctis falls asleep quite content, with Prompto’s soothing hand leading the way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know this update it Long. It'll be worth it though! We get Prompto's in his part too!
> 
> Please enjoy~

Monday morning arrives and Prompto goes back home. He wakes Noctis up to say goodbye -- a long standing tradition -- and laughs as always when Noctis grumbles and turns away from him before muttering a ‘ _bye, get home safe_ ’ that is almost entirely lost to the pillows.

Noctis wakes up again hours later, feeling a bit more alive, and unplugs his phone from the charger. Prompto’s chat is his first stop; the latest message is just a house emoji sent some two hours ago, so Noctis understands that his friend managed to get home safely.

Next is the group chat with Prompto, Ignis and Gladio. It usually goes a bit dead on the weekends Prompto spends at Noctis’; without the two of them to drive the conversation, the others usually fall silent, preferring to use private chats.

Noctis snorts at a few of the memes Prompto had spammed the chat with, reading through the backlog before responding. The conversation quickly evolves into teasing Noctis for his love of sleep, so he sends a couple mock irritated texts and puts the phone aside to get up.

As he gets ready for the rest of his day, Noctis gives some thought to the ‘dropping hints’ matter that Luna had mentioned, wondering what he could do to make Prompto realize his interest. He doesn’t want to do anything too drastic -- even with all the hope Luna had managed to place in his heart, there’s still a considerable part of him that is _scared_. He doesn’t want to risk their friendship on a _possibility_ , without any evidence that Prompto would be open to being something _more_.

The words of others aren’t enough, even the words of the people he trusts -- it’s something he has to see with his own eyes, before being able to make that leap.

So he sits down with a notepad program open on his laptop, _thinks_ about it and lets his fingers run free across the keyboard as his mind drifts and daydreams. His list ends up on the short and simple side: various forms of physical contact and closeness, a few material things like sudden gift-giving and some places they could go together.

It feels almost lackluster when he imagines the lists his friends would surely create, but he tries to ignore that feeling -- this isn’t about how _they_ would act in his situation. Moreover, Noctis has never been one to enjoy the big, romantic moments and gestures of movies or tv shows; he has always appreciated the little things instead.

As he sits there, staring at the list -- and swearing that it’s staring back at him -- a dash of dread begins to rise in his chest, until it’s firmly lodged at the base of his throat. Is all this truly a good idea? What if he damages their friendship irreparably by doing this? He isn’t even sure that Prompto likes him back, after all.

It suddenly feels like too much to risk with nothing but hope to back him up.

But then he pushes that worry -- that doubt -- to the side. The whole point of doing this is discovering if Prompto returns his feelings: to make him realize that they could be something _more,_ if only Prompto wants it too.

Noctis nods firmly, with his determination rekindled. _I can do this._

 

x

 

Noctis starts slow.

He tells his brain and heart to be _quiet_ as he allows himself to get caught in Prompto’s gravitational pull, as he stands and sits closer. Most of those little gestures aren’t even a conscious decision of his; a touch on Prompto elbow to draw his attention instead of calling his name, gently pulling him out of someone’s way when he’s particularly animated instead of warning him verbally, or removing something from Prompto’s hair himself instead of pointing at it.

His daydreams makes some gestures nearly so _natural_ that he only realizes that he’s doing it in real life a few minutes after the fact -- like that one time during rush hour, on the busiest part of the city, in which Noctis’ hold of Prompto’s wrist to keep them from getting separated had turned into hand holding at some unknown point. They had been doing if for a solid five minutes before Noctis’ brain remembered it was something worth freaking out about, and Noctis had looked back at Prompto only to see him smiling distractedly, too entranced by the store fronts around them to catch Noctis’ gaze.

Prompto had used that connection to pull Noctis into a random store fifteen minutes later, only letting go when he went to pick up the things he wanted to buy. Noctis’ hand had tingled for the rest of the night.

And then there is the casual brushing of fingers while trading controllers at Noctis’ apartment, or a game gun at the arcade near Prompto’s place; the increased amount of soft shoulder punches, something that only Prompto had liked to do when they first became friends, but that now Noctis consistently reciprocates.

There’s also the fact that now, Noctis has the courage to throw _his_ arm around Prompto’s shoulders when they are pressed side to side in a photo booth, instead of the other way around. Noctis swears that he sees a faint dusting of pink on Prompto’s cheeks in the first couple photos, so he asks for a copy. Prompto is _definitely_ blushing when he hands it to Noctis, but they say nothing about it.

Noctis watches Prompto’s reactions as closely as he is able to -- meaning, for as long as he can without spontaneously combusting. Sometimes, Prompto would stare at him a bit strangely, nearly confused; most likely wondering about his sudden physicality. His friend has always been quick to roll with things, however, so a smile quickly replaces the slight frown.

And sometimes -- more rarely -- Noctis will turn to face him just in time to catch a look in Prompto’s eyes, a fierce intensity that steals the breath from his lungs and makes hope climb just a little bit higher in his chest. It always dissipates, lightning-fast; the expression that takes its place so normal that Noctis is hard-pressed to believe he hadn’t imagined it all.

Once the surprise wears off, Prompto seems happy with the proximity -- enough to not question it. He takes it all in stride, every little change. If weren’t for the two _looks_ Noctis has seen, he could even fool himself into thinking that Prompto wasn’t noticing any of it.

It makes Noctis feel conflicted; though he is scared of the possible outcome, he _wants_ Prompto to think about it, to question it and wonder what Noctis’ motives are, because that would mean progress. If Prompto simply accepts the changes and rolls with it, Noctis will have to step up his game -- and _that_ is a frightening idea that Noctis would rather not ponder too much upon.

 

x

 

It's early evening in Insomnia; the city is just starting to cool down from the relentless summer heat of the day.  Noctis, Prompto, Ignis, Gladio and Iris are all squeezed into a Crow's Nest booth, talking and laughing excitedly, tired from an afternoon in a packed amusement park. All but Ignis craving yet more junk food.

The booth is just on the edge of too small for four grown men and a teenager. Noctis can feel Prompto’s knee bumping his from time to time; or even Prompto’s thigh touching his when Prompto shifts and squirms like the restless creature he is. It makes a warmth that has nothing to do with the outdoors temperature rise within his chest.

Their bags and backpacks had been shoved under the table as soon as they arrived, water bottles ignored in favor of deliciously cold soda. To top it all, they’re still feeling the effects of too many hours under the scorching sun; even with the sunscreen Ignis had insisted upon, the tip of their ears and shoulders are all red.

“-ust so… so hard to swallow, you know? It’s so clear that they have no idea what to do now and are just continuing it for the money and I don’t think I’ll watch it for much longer,” Iris says, and cracks a smile when Noctis automatically lifts a hand for her to high five.

“Trust me, it’s better if you do so. I did that and will never regret it, though I can’t say I cut all ties with the show because of this dork,” Noctis says while poking Prompto right over his ribs, causing the boy to squirm and laugh loudly.

“I need someone to vent to, and you already know the story!” Prompto defends himself.

“I don’t think I’ll drop it,” Gladio cuts in. “The story feels like- not even a hot mess, more like a boiling mess at this point, but I’m getting a good laugh outta all of the nonsense.”

“That’s true! I’ll be rolling my eyes or covering my ears in disgust and Gladdy will just be outright guffawing. Even after all these years I still don’t know how he does it,” Iris says. Gladio only shrugs.

“If that’s the case, the next season will probably be a riot-- I mean, the villain’s name is _Dick,_ of all things,” Prompto laughs.

Noctis smiles, Gladio grins and Iris giggles, but that conversation is cut short by the arrival of their orders; the waiter doing a valiant job of balancing it all.

The subject jumps around as they eat, going from the release of a new album from Iris’ favorite artist to a billboard Ignis had seen on the way to the amusement park, then to the announcement of a movie based on an anime Gladio watches.

At infrequent intervals, Noctis feels the heavy stare of Ignis, Gladio and Iris in turn. They’re quick to look away and pretend it hadn’t happened, but quicker still to start it up again, and Noctis is dreading the moment in which Prompto decides to leave their booth to go to the bathroom or the game machines on the corner.

He _knows_ what they are dying to ask about, and while he’d rather this little interrogation of sorts never happens, Noctis is very aware that he will never be able to escape it.

He breaks out in a cold sweat when Prompto stands up, and abruptly turns to face him -- to ask him to stay or hold his wrist or _anything_ to make him not go -- that the boy pauses for a moment, studying him.

“You okay, Noct?”

“Y- yeah, fine,” Noctis manages to say, voice noticeably strained.

“Sure about that?” Prompto asks again, looking at the other three questioningly.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me.”

“If you say so…”

Noctis stares at Prompto’s back for a handful of seconds as the boy heads for the game machines. He’s unwilling to move, but the sound of Ignis clearing his throat is impossible to ignore. It all but demands an explanation, and Noctis has heard it too many times in his life to not have an ingrained reaction to it.

“So,” Ignis begins once he turns to them. “How long did you plan on _trying_ to hide it?”

“Hide what?” Noctis asks, going for an innocent tone and failing miserably. He can _feel_ his soul physically detaching from his body, and makes no effort to prevent it from doing so.

“That you’ve finally realized your feelings,” Gladio answers with a cocked eyebrow and crossed arms.

“W- what feelings,” Noctis chokes out.

“You _love_ him!” Iris whisper-shouts to him, finally cracking. She does a strange, contained flail in her seat, legs kicking wildly under the table.

Noctis waves goodbye to his soul as it ascends.

“To be honest, it wasn’t like he was even trying to hide it,” Gladio shrugged. “And it’s not like he is capable of being subtle anyway.”

“The fact he always bought enough food for he and Prompto to share though Prompto never asked for it was a fairly obvious sign,” Ignis said, adjusting his glasses.

“And how close he always stood to Prompto,” Gladio pointed out.

“And how hard he tried to win that figurine at the ring toss! I think he was almost breaking down in frustration due to not getting it, I’m so glad the owner offered to trade the smaller prizes for the big one,” Iris giggles.

“Also, did you see his face when Prompto jumped him after he handed the figurine over? I could swear we had just witnessed someone instantly dying,” Gladio adds and laughs. Iris does her flail again.

Noctis just lets himself fall forehead-first on the table. Even Ignis cracks a smile at the sight, as the other two laugh heartily.

“Now that we’ve fulfilled our allotted share of teasing as your friends -- would you like help?” Ignis asks.

Noctis lifts his head. “What kind of help?”

“Advice, tips, stuff like that. It’s clear he isn’t catching any of the hints you’re throwing his way,” Gladio says, waving his hand around.

Noctis contains his instinctual urge to deny assistance in this situation and thinks about it for a moment. They are different from him; what works for them might not work for him, and besides, he wants to accomplish this alone.

“Thanks, but no,” he starts, and tries to find acceptable words for what he wants to say next.

“There’s no need to explain yourself,” Ignis cuts him off, and Noctis closes his mouth. “Just know that we’ll always be available if you change your mind.”

“Though we might have to tease you some more if you do,” Gladio grins.

“All in good nature, of course,” Iris adds.

Noctis drops his head back on the table, and that is how Prompto finds them once he returns.

“Hey again! What happened while I was away?” Prompto asks once he’s sitting again, looking at each of them in turn. “By the way Noct, you should have played with me! I got a pretty good high score and I got curious about whether you could beat it or not.”

“In Justice Monsters V? Of course I could,” Noctis scoffs.

“Well, we’ll never know, since you stayed behind,” Prompto fires back, childishly sticking his tongue out.

Noctis playfully shoves at him, but Ignis stops them before Prompto can retaliate.

“Boys, please.”

They concede to Ignis’ authority -- for a few seconds, that is; then it’s back to making faces at each other.

“I think I still want a milkshake,” Iris announces. “Anyone else want one as well?”

“I’m good,” Gladio says.

“Ohh, I want one! Noct, wanna split it?” Prompto asks with a grin.

Noctis shrugs. “Sure, why not? I don’t think I’d be able to finish one alone now- comfortably, at least.”

They glance at Ignis and start laughing out loud at his instinctual, mildly horrified expression. He lifts a hand to adjust his glasses and it smoothes out -- for the most part, at least.

“I could ask how the three of you have space for more after everything we’ve eaten, but I already know the answer.”

“How did you put it? I think it was ‘you are bottomless fiends,’” Prompto laughs.

“No no, you didn’t make the right voice, there was way more disgust involved,” Noctis says.

Iris clears her throat. “You are bottomless fiends,” she recites in a terrible imitation of Ignis’ accent -- but spot on in the disgust levels. Even Gladio laughs with then; hell, even Ignis smiles a little.

Gladio flags down a waitress to take their orders. Fortunately, it doesn’t take too long for them to arrive; Iris leisurely sucks on her straw as Prompto and Noctis pass theirs around and talk about _Breath of the Wild_ with the equally enthusiastic girl.

“Noctis, Prompto,” Ignis calls a while later. “Have they divulged the dates for the enrollment period yet?”

“Ah, yeah. It starts… August 4th?”

“August 3rd,” Noctis corrects.

“Yes, that. I have a good feeling about this semester!” Prompto grins, pumping a fist in the air.

“Gods, I wish that were me -- I’m told this semester has the worst teachers,” Noctis says with a shake of his head.

“You’ll live, buddy. I have faith in you,” Prompto says and gives Noctis a one-armed hug.

“I’m still not sure if I wish I were in college like you guys,” Iris comments.

“That’s okay-- I mean, I’m _there_ and I still don’t know if I like it,” Noctis shrugs.

They talk for another half hour and then start to prepare to go home. None of them had been willing to go by car and brave the hellish search for a parking space anywhere near Insomnia’s biggest amusement park on its busiest week, so once everyone is ready, they all shuffle into the closest subway station.

Noctis and Prompto wave the others goodbye before getting on their train. Prompto had complained all day about the extra weight his toiletries made on his backpack, but Noctis knew it was mostly a front -- Prompto had been the one to suggest going over on Friday instead of Saturday as is their usual.

Noctis lets his head tip back and meet the backrest of the seat they had thankfully managed to find. His mind drifts in lazy circles and his eyes start to drop -- something he only allows because of Prompto’s presence. He knows for sure that Prompto wouldn’t leave him behind.

With that thought at the forefront of his mind, he dozes off, lulled by the train’s movement.

 

x

 

(About an hour later, they’re finally settled comfortably in Noctis’ sofa. Prompto isn’t quite ready to sleep yet, and Noctis doesn’t want to go to sleep with Prompto still awake, even though he’s been on the verge of passing out for half an hour.

Still, his friend insists on sitting next to him on the sofa. Prompto’s pretty sure that Noctis isn’t even aware that the TV is on at this point; it’s adorable, really.

Then some time later Noctis just pulls one of Prompto’s arms closer to himself and starts tracing unknown patterns on his skin, and Prompto all but forgets the TV even _exists_ as he watches; mesmerized. Eventually he realizes that Noctis is playing connect-the-dots with his freckles.

Fifteen minutes later Noctis is dead to the rest of the world -- still latching onto Prompto’s arm.

 _He is always so much bolder when sleepy,_ the blonde thinks, resisting the urge to reach out and touch Noctis’ face. _His filter is always one of the first casualties._

The thought makes him smile, and he turns back to the TV, ignoring the way his arm _burns_.

When his own eyelids start to close against his will, Prompto coaxes Noctis awake with a hand buried in his soft hair and promises of a more comfortable bed, and laughs quietly as his friend grumbles all the way to his bedroom.)

 

x

 

Noctis and Prompto don’t leave the apartment all weekend, choosing instead to complain about the aching legs and backs and shoulders the trip had left them with and to play whichever game tickles their fancy. Saturday is spent with playing cards and then Monopoly; on Sunday they go online for Cards Against Humanity, sitting on opposite ends of the sofa with their legs tangled up in the middle.

They perform their usual Monday morning goodbyes and go back to non-stop texting, sending links back and forth as they catch up with their social media. On Tuesday, Noctis makes the herculean effort to wake up earlier due to his monthly video call with Luna; they have tons of fun watching Umbra and Pryna try to find where his voice is coming from before shoving their noses on Luna’s phone.

“So, how goes your plan to make Prompto realize you like him?” she asks once the dogs have quieted back down, setting her phone at its support on her desk. Noctis takes in as the afternoon light streams through the wide windows of her bedroom and stares at a vase full of sylleblossoms, thinking on his answer.

“There’s… nothing to really say about that, I think, other than repeating what I’ve already told you,” he sighs.

“He’s still not catching any of your hints?”

Noctis shakes his head. “Sometimes, I swear he’ll ask me about it, ‘cause he’ll get this _look_ in his eyes, but it never happens.”

Luna hums. “That’s strange. From what you’ve told me, he should have caught on at least a handful by now,” she says, pensive. “One can’t help but wonder why he hasn’t.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Maybe it’s partly intentional? As in, he could be making a conscious choice not to ponder on it too much,” Luna theorizes, absently fiddling with her headphones.

“But _why_ would he do that?” Noctis questions, frowning.

“We have no way of knowing for sure without asking,” she shrugs. “And it’s better for us to abandon that line of thought, because it won’t lead us anywhere good.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Don’t be discouraged by this, Noctis,” she says with a soft smile. “I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: I have faith that everything will work out in the end. You’d make a lovely couple,” she winks.

Noctis drops his head on the table to hide his burning cheeks and groans Luna’s name. She outright laughs at his embarrassment, and the sound of it soothes the betrayal Noctis is feeling.

“Remember that I’m always willing to lend an ear -- or, well, an eye -- and advice, if you wish for it. I’m sure that holds true to Ignis and Gladio as well, so don’t be afraid to approach any of us.”

“They offered it, actually- on Friday.”

“And you refused it, of course.”

Noctis shrugs.

“I can make an educated guess in regards to your reasoning -- you prefer to do this on your own, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“And you probably think that you’re too different from them for their methods to work with your situation. But you don’t need to follow their suggestions to the letter, Noctis. I’ve talked with them and heard of them from you enough to know that, yes, you would have very distinct approaches to this. However, hearing what they have to say and seeing what they have to offer doesn’t mean you are obligated to do as they do. Still with me so far?”

Noctis nods, trying to match her intensity.

“So if they advise you to do a thing -- that might be something you are not comfortable with -- you can use that as base and decide to do _another_ thing, which won’t make their advice any less helpful. So I recommend you to think on it fondly,” she finishes with a smile.

“I think I should start labelling our talks ‘encounters’,” Noctis says nearly a minute later. “They usually are as life-altering as the name suggests,” he adds with a wry grin, making Luna laugh.

“Am I a cryptid now?” she asks between laughs. “A creature that instead of killing or eating humans, imparts wisdom in every encounter?”

Noctis laughs harder. “We’re gonna have to research that. Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, wisdom-giving cryptid.”

“What is Ravus, then?”

“He’s a regular, people-eating cryptid, usually seen roaming the corridors of the Nox Fleuret Mansion. If you’re not also a Nox Fleuret, _never_ stay in a room with him alone -- the chances of survival are very, very small, but the creature’s family seem to have a calming effect on it.”

Louder laughing ensues. Luna leaves the frame for a minute, clutching at her stomach with a curious Pryna watching. Noctis wipes the tears from the corner of his eyes once the fit subsides.

“Oww,” Luna groans pitifully, still giggling at infrequent intervals. “I think I just added five years back to my lifespan. If Ravus ever catches wind of what you said, however, you’ll be his next victim.”

“Well, I’m obviously not telling,” Noctis says matter-of-factly, rubbing his aching abdomen. “Are you?”

“That’s for me to know and for you to wonder,” she winks.

“So mean.”

“Ah, but you’d still kill someone if I asked.”

“Obviously. And then get all my Insomnian friends to help me hide the body,” he says, then thinks for a moment. “Or just get Ravus to eat it, to be honest.”

“Stop! Now whenever I see him next I’m going to start giggling! How do you propose I explain that to him?”

“Just say that you’re remembering that he is basically a walking ace flag, since the only colors he ever uses are black, white, gray and purple.”

“Well, that wouldn’t be a lie, since I will indeed remember that, now that you’ve said it,” she says in a false chiding tone.

Noctis performs a bow. “I live to serve, Lady Lunafreya.”

“You know, that form of address never fails to remind me of Prompto. Oh, speaking of which, I’ve got some news! You’re always the one that comes visit me here at Tenebrae, but I’ve been wishing to finally meet Insomnia for a while. I talked with Mother, and since I’ve got way more free time now that I’ve graduated, we started planning a trip!”

“ _Really?_ ” Noctis exclaims, grin appearing almost instantly. “That’s great, Luna! Any idea of when?”

“Well, it’d probably be best to go while you and the others are on vacation, and given I want to spend at least a month over there, we’re talking next summer.”

“That’s awesome, really. Can I tell the others or would you like to do it yourself?”

Luna taps her chin and hums. “You can tell Prompto, but ask him to keep quiet about it. I want to make it a surprise for Uncle Regis.”

“Will do. He’s going to be ecstatic, you can bet on that.”

“Do you think I should tell him on a video call? I think I’d like to see his face when I do.”

“Go for it- it won’t disappoint.”

“I should probably get going,” Luna says after a pause. “I still have some errands to run for Mother today. Keep me updated on your plans and don’t forget to think about what I said, alright?”

“As if I even could,” Noctis snorts. “Bye Luna, have a nice evening and stay safe.”

“And you have a nice day! If I don’t text you later, I’ll do so tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

After doing a little wave, Luna hangs up the call. Noctis stands up and stretches, feeling his spine pop and shift back into place.

As he decides what to eat for lunch, his mind diligently goes over Luna’s words. She had a point -- when _didn’t_ she? -- but he still hesitates; he still wonders if it’s _truly_ the best idea to ask for help. But that’s not a problem. He’s got time, and will figure out what to do eventually.

And well -- it isn’t like his friends put an expiry date on their offer. Noctis can pick at it until he’s satisfied, no worries.

He’ll get there.

 

x

 

On Thursday of that same week, Noctis decides he is tired of thinking about it. In a moment of fuck-it courage, he creates a nameless group chat and adds in Luna, Gladio and Ignis.

 

 **Noctis:** okay, this is me ready  & willing to listen to you all have to say, so shoot

 

He turns his phone in his hands while waiting for a response. It’s around dinnertime for Luna, so she’ll take some time to come around, and Ignis and Gladio don’t check their phones as often as Prompto does. It’s _agonizing_ \-- it takes two eternal minutes before someone finally puts him out of his misery.

 

 **Gladio:** oho, i see you’ve finally caved in

 **Gladio:** yo @Iggy the boy has finally admitted he’s a disaster and needs help

 

Noctis would normally roll his eyes, but the current nerves make him unable to summon the appropriate indignation. He chooses to keep quiet until Ignis shows up as well, which thankfully doesn’t take too long.

 

 **Ignis:** It seems so.

 **Gladio:** i know we said you’d get more teasing, but i’m choosing to let you go easy because this took less time than i expected

 **Gladio:** though, knowing you as well as i do, i am 97% certain Luna put you on this path.

 **Noctis:** i know you all have _opinions_ about how i’m going about this and about what i should be doing so just say what you’d do in my situation right off the bat so we can move on

 **Ignis:** We do have, as you have put it, _opinions_ , but not with nearly as much contempt as you infuse the word with.

 **Ignis:** There are many different ways to achieve what you are wishing to achieve. The fact that yours is a bit more long-winded than most does not mean it’s a wrong one.

 **Gladio:** yeah. we’re your friends and we’re not here to judge, just to offer our help. because you’re still a disaster.

 **Noctis:** ...sorry, i guess that was needlessly confrontational of me

 **Ignis:** I’m certain you’re nervous. It’s an understandable misstep.

 **Ignis:** I just decided it was better to make our non-judgment clear -- get it out of the way, so to speak.

 

_Gladio changed the group name from “ ” to “judgment-free zone”_

 

 **Gladio:** there, now we have it.

 **Gladio:** as for how i’d go about this…

 **Gladio:** i’m way more straightforward than you. if i like someone, i let them know.

 **Gladio:** doesn’t need to be via telling them outright, because actions can be just as loud as words, but i leave no space for interpretation.

 **Ignis:** And it works because Gladio has a lot of charisma and knows how to be smooth with his approach.

 **Ignis:** His partners like how genuine he is.

 **Gladio:** yeah. not to brag, but i make cliches work.

 **Ignis:** A true achievement.

 **Gladio:** if they’re the type to like that kinda stuff, i can take them to a fancy place, be a gentleman. if they prefer the skewer place at the corner, we can do that too. i’m adaptable.

 **Gladio:** and if they aren’t interested in me like that, i back off, no harm done. i apologize, in case i made them uncomfortable and we continue on as if it hadn’t happened at all.

 **Gladio:** but i’d bet my life that you won’t have to worry about that.

 **Noctis:** rjvirewdjk

 **Ignis:** I prefer to show my regard in other ways. Both of you are quite familiar with it -- I pay attention to the ones I care about, commit their likes and dislikes to memory, and enjoy having that consideration be returned.

 **Gladio:** iggy is more the thoughtful type. it’s pretty sweet, when your partner or even your friend shows they really are listening to even the little things, the offhanded comments, and act on it. we mention we like something _one_ time and weeks or even months later iggy surprises us with it.

 **Noctis:** mhm yeah, i know. prompto said his fav dish was green curry and iggy wasn’t even _near_ him, i have no idea how he heard prom saying that, but guess what he makes the following week? green curry. i swear that prom nearly started crying

 **Gladio:** blondie’s reactions are the best.

 **Ignis:** Indeed, Gladio.

 **Ignis:** Listening and remembering is an easy way to show you cherish someone. It’s nice to learn that a friend or partner did something for you, even though they didn’t have to.

 **Gladio:** that’s exactly what makes it special.

 **Ignis:** And while I am not adverse to going to a restaurant or the sort for a date, I greatly prefer having a quiet night in, talking for hours about whatever comes to mind and getting to know each other further.

 **Ignis:** Now that we got that out of the way, I have a question for you, Noct. We got to see a bit of what you’ve been doing while in the amusement park, but could you explain it in your own words, so that we know where to start?

 **Noctis:** uh okay

 **Noctis:** i’ve just been… closer to him, mostly? i’m not a very touchy person usually, but i’ve been making an effort to reciprocate and also initiate physical contact. sometimes it surprises him, i guess, but then he smiles and it’s like nothing happened

 **Noctis:** and we’ve going out more. we went to like three parks and a lot of diners and restaurants these past… two months.

 **Ignis:** Alright. Could you expand a little on how Prompto reacts to your actions?

 **Noctis:** sometimes there is no reaction, almost like it doesn’t register that i’ve done something a little different

 **Noctis:** and then there are times in i can _see_ the wheels inside his head turn, because he’ll stare at me fixedly for a beat or two but then it’s just gone and the smile comes back

 **Noctis:** he blushes too, more rarely.

 **Gladio:** bet you think that’s the cutest shit ever

 **Noctis:** DASLKFHGKHEJWNFMWEF

 **Ignis:** I see that you only bet on things you know you’d win, Gladio.

 **Gladio:** obviously. and if that isn’t the case i’ll make it turn in my favor.

 **Noctis:** i really want him to notice everything but at the same time i kinda don’t

 **Noctis:** cause i’m scared of what will happen

 **Noctis:** sometimes i get the urge to just stop and pretend nothing happened and try my best to forget it ever did

 **Ignis:** Please do not. It’s understandable that you’re feeling apprehensive, given that this means a lot to you. And that’s exactly why you mustn’t abandon your plans.

 **Gladio:** being afraid of rejection is normal. completely human. you like prompto a lot, and hesitate to really commit to making him realize you do so in a romantic sense.

 **Gladio:** but the thing is, would it really be better not to know, one way or the other? could you just move on, wondering how it might have been?

 **Gladio:** this is a risk you can’t take by halves. if you decide to do it, you gotta see it through the end and _make_ prompto know, even if you have to actually _tell_ him -- with words -- to achieve it.

 **Gladio:** otherwise, the ‘what if’s will just make a little house on the back of your mind and they’ll never leave you alone.

 **Noctis:** but

 **Noctis:** i just

 **Noctis:** is it okay that i don’t want this to change us all that much?

 **Luna:** Of course it is, Noctis!

 **Luna:** Starting a romantic relationship with someone doesn’t mean you stop being friends. You’ll still be the same people, just with a few more layers to your connection. (￣▽￣)ノ

 **Ignis:** Lunafreya is right. The relationship would be built on the solid foundation of your pre-existing friendship, and I’m absolutely sure that you would still act the same way around each other.

 **Gladio:** just with some more pda.

 **Luna:** Sorry for taking so long to respond, by the way -- I had been spending time with Mother and my phone wasn’t nearby. (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*

 **Noctis:** that’s okay, luna.

 **Luna:** What Gladio said is true as well. You must choose what to do and stick to your decision. You know what I’m rooting for, but I’ll support you no matter what. ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)

 **Noctis:** i do want to try. i want him to know, and i want to know how he feels too

 **Noctis:** it’s just…

 **Ignis:** It still doesn’t dispel the fear.

 **Noctis:** yeah, that

 **Luna:** And that’s exactly why we’re here: to help you with it. (°◡°♡).:｡

 **Gladio:** can we start with the advice now?

 **Noctis:** sure, go for it

 **Gladio:** compliment him more. and i don’t mean just physical stuff, like saying that he looks nice or the like, though that’d also be good

 **Gladio:** compliment his skills at something, say something nice about his photography. don’t let him just shrug it off -- he’ll try to do that at first, so you’ll have to insist and make him see that you truly mean it.

 **Gladio:** it will make him pretty happy with you and show that you care.

 **Ignis:** Try to be spontaneous, sometimes. Turn off your worries for a moment and simply _act._ Surprise him with something that he had mentioned before, such as tickets to a movie he’d been meaning to watch but didn’t have the time, or something you saw on a store that reminded you of him.

 **Luna:** Continue to be affectionate, too. From what you tell me about him, he is a very physical person, so hugs and closeness are equally as sweet.

 **Noctis:** i think i have a few ideas already

 **Luna:** That’s great! ☆ヾ(*´▽｀)ﾉ

 **Noctis:** thanks, guys. i’ll give some more thought to all this and then work on putting it in practice

 **Ignis:** That’s good to hear.

 **Gladio** : best of luck with blondie, noct.

 **Noctis:** i’ll probably need it.

 

With that, Noctis closes the messaging app and stands from the sofa. His bed welcomes him as it always has, and he clutches a pillow while thinking of Prompto as well as the things he can do with the advice he has been given.

And if he falls asleep during that, well -- exactly no one would be surprised.

 

x

 

“Hey, Prom -- I have something for you,” Noctis says out of the blue, the next time they’re hanging out together.

“Yeah? What is it?” Prompto asks with his usual enthusiasm, smiling at the thought of receiving a gift.

Noctis ruffles through his backpack until he finds the item, and presents it to Prompto with some theatrical flair: a new camera strap, all in yellow with a chocobo pattern.

Prompto starts laughing as soon as he notices what it is, taking it from Noctis’ hands and inspecting it. “Dude, this is perfect. It has so many cute chocobos.”

“I noticed your old one was getting pretty worn- it looked ready to fall apart in some places, and when I was buying some groceries last week, this caught my eye. I couldn’t _not_ buy it.”

“Aw, thanks, Noct! I had been planning on buying one, but I ended up going for some new lenses instead,” Prompto says. “I heard that some of them would be useful for this semester’s classes, so they ended up taking priority.”

“I remember you telling me that, few weeks ago.”

“But now I won’t have to worry about that. Thanks again, Noct.”

Prompto walks closer and gives Noctis an one-armed hug. It doesn’t take long for it to devolve into hair mussing and tickling, as is their usual.

Prompto plays with the camera strap for the rest of the day, and Noctis delights on being the one to have put such a beautiful smile on his face.

 

x

 

On the following week, they decide to pay a visit to their old high school haunt. The arcade is as lively as they remember, with some new game machines here and there, coupled with groups of teenagers walking around. The manager recognizes them -- which makes Noctis and Prompto laugh -- and a brief conversation about what they’ve been doing since entering college starts up.

A few minutes later, Noctis is dragged to Prompto’s favorite shooting game despite his protests. The boy is all smiles, ecstatic to see that his initials are still in five of the ten high score positions, and tries to cajole Noctis into playing it.

“C’monnn, Noct! At least one round?” Prompto begs, trying and failing to make puppy eyes due to laughing too hard at Noctis’ disgruntled face.

“Why would I want a repeat of all the defeats of the past?” Noctis whines, exaggerated in a way that gets Prompto to smile.

“You big _baby_ \-- fine, you win. Co-op, then?” he concedes, shoving at Noctis’ shoulder.

“You can show off just as well in it, Prom, don’t whine,” he says with a grin.

“What, like you were doing five seconds ago?” Prompto challenges. Noctis returns the earlier shove, and it doesn’t take long for them to start laughing. That particular discussion is a _very_ familiar one; it brings back other fond memories -- all linked, akin to a chain.

A crowd begins to gather behind them less than three minutes after Prompto presses _play_. Noctis smiles and goes for the stragglers, letting his friend take the spotlight, uncontested.

Once the routine ends, everyone who had been watching swarms in around Prompto, showering him with praise and asking how he had done it. He clearly basks in the attention, showing the younger ones some of his tricks and telling the story of the day he finally snagged the first place -- a score that no one had been able to beat, at least not yet.

Noctis steps to the side and simply observes, doing some basking of his own -- on Prompto’s radiance, on seeing him sure of himself and his skills. He waits until the blond frees himself from the crowd and makes his way back to Noctis’ side.

 _You belong here with me_ , Noctis thinks once Prompto reaches him, grinning brightly.

Instead of vocalizing that thought in any way, he uses Prompto’s good mood to convince him to play a fighting game, a genre they’re much more equally matched at, and that’s what they do for the rest of the afternoon: scream and mash buttons and poke fun at each other’s mistakes.

Around six pm, they tire of playing and leave the arcade to walk aimlessly around Insomnia, unwilling to go home just yet. Noctis manages to find the courage to break the comfortable silence some fifteen minutes later, determined to act on the advice he has received.

“How did it feel, being mobbed by adoring fans back there?” he asks, choosing to start slow.

“It was nice! A bit surprising too, to be honest.”

“I’d guess it happened because they’re the new regulars. The people that used to hang out there when we did were way more used to your zombie murdering.”

Prompto chuckles. “That’s probably it. Plus, it’s been a few years and my high scores are _still_ on the list, so some of the admiration probably came from that.”

“Yeah, from finally meeting the mythical _PA_.”

“Aw, Noct, now you’re just trying to make me blush. Mythical is a bit much, don’t you think?” Prompto says, cheeks beginning to pink. Noctis refrains from telling that while it hadn’t exactly been his intention, it is not an unwelcome result.

“Nah, it’s a good way to put it. I didn’t even _know_ the scores could go that high before you got them.”

Prompto whines, covering his face with both hands.

Noctis smiles and goes on. “It’s really amazing, how talented you are at that. You defeat like, triple the amount of enemies I do in the same amount of time.”

“Nooooct,” he whines again.

“Plus, you’re great at eyeballing distances and measurements. Your accuracy at it has impressed even Ignis, did you know that?”

“Okay, stop!” Prompto forcibly covers Noctis’ mouth with a hand and starts shushing him.

Noctis escapes from his grip and starts laughing. “Take the compliments, Prom,” he says, still evading the other.

“You could just stop talking instead.”

“Nah, this is too fun,” Noctis grins. He stops evading and lets Prompto get closer -- a ploy that ends up with Noctis ruffling his hair energetically.

“Ack! You’ll pay for that, Noct!” Prompto shouts and runs after a smirking and unrepentant Noctis.

“We’ll see about that!”

 

x

 

 **Noctis:** prom

 **Noctis:** look outta the window, i don’t wanna hit the horn

 

Noctis sets the phone down on his thigh and takes hold of the wheel once more, tapping his fingers to the tune of a videogame soundtrack that is stuck in his head while he waits. It doesn’t take long for his messages to be read and for Prompto to open the door to his house and step out into the uncomfortably hot Insomnian streets, visibly confused.

Noctis lowers the passenger’s window when Prompto gets close enough. “Get ready and get in, loser, we’re going _fast_ ,” he says with a wide, pleased grin.

Prompto guffaws. “Dude- okay, first things first, I bet you were waiting to say that all the way here,” he says, pointing an accusatory finger at Noctis, who only shrugs. “Second- what are you doing here? Did we plan something that I forgot?”

“Nah, you didn’t. And just _get in_ for this talk, I don’t want all the cold air to exit the car via an open window.”

Prompto snorts and does as he’s told. “So… Where are we going, then?”

“I was thinking ‘bout going to that patch of forest you mentioned one of these days -- the one at the edge of the city, where people usually do trails at?”

“Okay,” Prompto says, tone unsure. “Why, though?”

“You said it’d be a nice place to take some photos at, since it’s far enough from the heart of the city for there to be some different animals around.”

“Yeah, I remember telling you that -- but why go there, and so suddenly, too?”

Noctis shrugs. “I woke up wanting to go out somewhere new. Thought we could make a day trip out of it.”

“Got a bit bored of what you have at hand, yeah?” Prompto smiles.

“Pretty much. So, you wanna go there, or did I get everything ready for nothing?”

At the mention of preparations, Prompto looks at him and the backseat with a tad more scrutiny. “You really came here ready to go, huh?” he grins.

“Yeah, and you should go and do the same, dork. I think it’s like an hour away -- if we take too long, you will have less time of sunlight for your photos.”

Prompto beams at his thoughtfulness. “Right!” he nods and moves his hand to the door handle, but stops before pulling it. “By the way, what should I put on my bag? What are you taking already?”

“I packed two water bottles, a few snacks and bug spray, so that we won’t be eaten alive by mosquitoes and stuff. You should take your own water and something for you to eat. Oh- and that super strong sunscreen you use would be a good idea too.”

“Alrighty. Breathable fabrics, right?”

“Mhm.”

“Wait-- you are telling someone else where we’re going, right?”

Noctis chuckles. “Will send a text to Specs as soon as you go get ready.”

“You better! If we fall prey to a serial killer or some violent animal I want my body to be found and buried, at least!”

Noctis can’t help it; he lets out a loud guffaw.

“Stop laughing, Noct! Listen to me very carefully- if my body is left to rot on the forest floor somewhere I will torment you, do you understand that? You’ll be trying to move on from this dimension and I’ll drag you back to it by your ankles if I have to,” he says, frowning at Noctis.

“I’ll tell Specs and send him our GPS location when we get there, Prom.”

Prompto huffs at him -- for effect -- and opens the car door. “Are you gonna stay here? You could wait inside, if you want.”

“I’ll stay,” Noctis answers. “Don’t take too long!” he calls out before Prompto closes the door.

Fifteen minutes later, Prompto comes back with different clothes and throws his bag on the backseat, next to Noctis’.

“Let’s boldly go!”

“Dork.”

 

x

 

Two days later, around early evening, Noctis stares at his dead sprite on King’s Knight and tries to contain the urge to throw his very nice -- and very expensive -- phone at the wall, if only for the pleasure of seeing it break. At his side, Prompto drops his own phone to the bed in rage and disgust and screams incoherently into a pillow.

If such a thing was possible, they would both enter the game and strangle the source of their fury -- the second-to-last boss of the newest dungeon, who has the ability to _self-heal_ \-- bare-handed, weapons be damned. Two hours and multiple equipment and abilities changes had not altered the outcome of the battle; the damage they inflicted was still lower than what the boss healed, and so they could not progress any further.

“I hate you,” Prompto snarls, glaring holes at the Game Over screen. “I hate you so fucking much, you stupid gods-forsaken fucking monster.”

Noctis continues to stare, willing the boss to explode into a billion pieces. If they were in his apartment instead of Prompto’s house, he’d seriously consider finding something to fling at the wall. He tries to distract himself by thinking about how hard he would have to throw various objects to make them break on impact.

“Okay, that’s it,” Prompto announces a moment later. “I’m not doing this again today. If i have to see that boss one more time I might go out and commit actual, real-life murder.”

“I’d probably help you do that.”

“I wonder- if we got Iggy to help us destroy the evidence and make away with the body, we’d have a fair chance of getting away with it, wouldn’t we?”

The thought of trying to convince Ignis to help them with such a thing makes Noctis grin, his mind moving away from the defeat-induced burning rage. “Possibly. If we followed his instructions like our lives depended on it -- which, to be honest, it would.”

“What d’ya think our lives would be like, if we were some kind of criminals or mafia families or whatever?”

“Have no idea, but it’s an interesting enough mental image.”

“Yeah. Maybe I could be a sharpshooter,” Prompto grins, wide and confident.

“Prompto Argentum, sniper extraordinaire,” Noctis laughs.

“Never misses the target,” Prompto says, smug, rolling in his bed to rest on his front, head supported by one arm.

“Now _that_ doesn’t sound true to me,” Noctis smirks. Prompto immediately protests, letting out a loud _‘hey!’_ and poking him on the ribs.

They go back to silence, now sufficiently distracted. Noctis studies the many photos that covers the walls, taking the time to try to remember the situation in which they were taken -- if he had been present, that is -- as his propped up leg sways from one side to another.

“Hey dude, do you wanna look at the photos from our little trip? I went through them and put them all in a separate folder, so that they’re easier to find,” Prompto says, pulling on a loose string on his comforter until it comes out entirely.

“Sure. We didn’t get to see them all before.”

“‘Cause we were both halfway dead, yeah,” Prompto snickers, lifting himself off the bed to get his laptop.

He sits right next to Noctis, close enough for their knees to touch, and waits for the computer to power up. Noctis has to resist the urge to turn and nuzzle into his neck, to hug him and pepper his freckled skin with little kisses. Prompto would probably squirm and laugh, in that scenario -- complain that Noctis’ breath _tickles_ while trying to escape the embrace.

Noctis redirects his attention to the screen once Prompto opens the first photo of the folder. Most of them are of the woods itself -- the trees, some animals they found that didn’t flee on sight, the sky as seen through the leaves -- but there’s also a fair number of photos of Noctis’ unflattering expressions and a _slightly_ smaller one of selfies.

Prompto laughs at every bad pic of Noctis, like the _great_ best friend he is. “I should share all these with the group, they’re such great memes,” he says.

Noctis mercilessly pokes at his ribs and Prompto squeals, trying to get away without letting go of the laptop. “You say that as if I didn’t have dozens of memes of you too, you little shit. Share mine and I’ll share yours,” he threatens, wiggling his fingers as a promise of more rib-pokes.

“Not fair!”

“Very, _very_ fair.”

Prompto sticks his tongue out for a moment and then goes back to his original position to continue showing the rest of the photos.

“Hey Prom,” Noctis starts, once Prompto has gone through the entire folder. “What do you think about sending one of these to a magazine?”

“ _Eh?_ Why’s that?”

“Because they’re _good,_ Prompto. Few days ago I was waiting to do one of those routine exams and there was an ad or something on the back of a Lucian Geographic magazine, about a special end-of-summer edition featuring a nature-themed photography contest. You should send one of yours,” Noctis says, voice soft and earnest as Prompto fidgets, clearly unsure.

“Lucian Geographic is a big mag, Noct, there’s no way they’d choose one of my photos,” Prompto shrugs, trying for a lighter tone but not quite succeeding. “I should just leave it to the pros, yeah?”

Noctis frowns. “Don’t put yourself down like that, Prom. How can you be so sure that you're gonna fail if you haven't even tried yet? Your work is amazing, and I’m not saying this just because I’m your best friend,” he smiles, scooting closer and bumping Prompto’s shoulder with his own.

It’s clear that Prompto is still unconvinced, however. He worries his lower lip and pulls an edge of his comforter to his lap, looking for a thread to pull on.

Noctis sighs. “Can I take the laptop?” he asks. When Prompto nods, he takes it and starts to look at the thumbnails. “Here,” he says, opening a photo. “Look at this, Prompto. The trees in the background, the moss-covered trail in the center, the sliver of sky visible above -- it’s stunning. I can see hundreds of your photos and still be amazed by what you manage to capture, by the way you see the world, because you’re able to take something ordinary and make it _beautiful._ ”

Prompto glances up at him and quickly looks back to the photo in display. His shoulders are still slightly hunched and the crease between his eyes is still present, so Noctis continues.

“This one,” he gestures, “is absolutely magazine-worthy, and it’s not even my favorite one of the bunch. Only you could get a picture of a butterfly perched on the inside of a footprint, Prom,” he smiles.

Prompto opens his mouth, and Noctis can already _hear_ the rebuttal on the tip of his tongue, so he quickly goes to the next.

“And this one of that stream we found, in the middle of a clearing. The water is so _clear_ , and the lil’ fish in it is just precious,” he chuckles, remembering Prompto crouching on the edge of the stream, biting his upper lip and waiting for the perfect moment.

Prompto’s lips start to curl into a smile, so Noctis goes in for the kill.

“This, however, is my favorite,” he says, opening the photo in question. “Climbing that small hill was torture- it was _way_ too steep and I could swear my legs would rebel and just stop working, but it got us the view of this photo, so I can’t complain _too_ much,” he shrugs, and Prompto giggles. “Just- the silhouette of the trees at the bottom, and the sun almost touching the horizon and dominating the picture, with fluffy clouds all around. It took my breath away them, and it does the same now.”

Noctis watches Prompto try to contain his grin -- the praise finally cracking his self-deprecative mood. “Alright, you goof. You win,” he says. “You’re helping me pick, though!”

Noctis laughs. “Isn’t my choice obvious at this point?”

“I guess it is. Find me the email before I lose my nerve.”

Prompto laughs when Noctis immediately scrambles for his phone. Five minutes later, the email with Prompto’s contact details and the file attachment is sent on its merry way.

“Now… we wait,” Prompto says, monotone, staring fixedly at the screen. “For three or so weeks.”

 _Yikes,_ Noctis thinks, running a soothing hand up and down Prompto’s back. “I have faith in you, Prom.”

“At least one of us does,” Prompto jokes.

“Hey!” Noctis exclaims, jostling him with a shoulder bump. “I won’t let you talk like that ‘bout my best friend, dude.”

Prompto laughs, loud and bright, and Noctis congratulates himself for a job well done.

 

x

 

“So, where are you going and what are you going to do there?” Luna asks.

Noctis adjusts his earbuds again and frowns. “Didn’t I tell you that before?”

“No,” she laughs. “You were going to, but… Ignis called you, I believe? And it was getting late, so I went to bed.”

“Ah, yeah, I remember it now. We’re going to a national park four hours from Insomnia -- I think the name is Ichor Woods and Reservoir? We’re gonna leave the car near the main office and walk to the camping spot. It’ll be a trip for us to chill, mostly. It’s a pretty place, near a lake and with lots of trees nearby.”

“You are already wondering what fish are there, aren’t you?”

Noctis chuckles, knowing that she’d zero in on that particular part.  “You know me too well, Luna.”

She makes a noise of triumph. “So you’re just going to walk around, play and fish?”

“Pretty much. Gladio told us that it’s a cool place to explore. He’s been there before once or twice, I think, with his dad and Iris. I swear that Prompto’s eyes shone when he talked about the sights.”

“So you’re going to trail behind him as he works on his photography, isn’t that right?” she says in a teasing tone. “How long will you be staying there?”

“Four or five days. Depends on how tired we are of each other’s faces by day four. And, a correction: I’m going to be _dragged_ around by Prompto as he works on his photography.”

“Not that you’ll complain a lot, hm?”

“The sights are mostly worth it.”

“Especially the sight of him, I bet,” she giggles.

Noctis ruffles a hand through his hair, feeling heat gather on his cheeks. He considers saying something else to escape from the subject, but it’s _Luna_ \-- he feels no need to hide things from her.

“That one is pretty fantastic, yeah,” he sighs after a pause. She stays silent for a second, and Noctis can picture her soft smile perfectly.

“Hold strong, Noctis. Your efforts will bear fruit yet,” she says at last; a response to something Noctis hadn’t even said out loud.

“Astrals, I hope so- it’s become more than just a _little_ frustrating,” he groans. “But I can’t even be mad at him. I probably couldn’t do it even if i tried.”

“Let me guess- he’s just too cute?”

“Pretty much,” Noctis drawls.

Luna hums. “When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow, at a time I’d rather not exist,” he mutters.

Luna laughs. “And they trust you’ll be awake to go?”

“Of course not. Prompto’s going to come over in a few hours, to -- as he put it -- pester me awake at six or so in the morning.”

She only laughs harder at the dismay clear in his voice. The sound brings a smile to his face.

“So you will be around him pretty much at all hours for five or so days, away from the city and thus without too many distractions to hinder you in your quest. That smells like opportunity to me, Noctis,” she says, sing-song.

“It does, but… I don’t have any great ideas in regards to what I could do next,” he shrugs, even though she can’t see it.

“Then it’s time for spontaneity, dearest Noctis. Just keep an eye out for the right moment and I’m sure you’ll find at least one.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“As usual,” she says, cheeky.

“Thanks again, Luna. You always manage to cheer me up and give me hope.”

“That’s what I try to do anyway, so I’m glad to hear it works!”

“I’ll talk with you another day, yeah? Will let you know if anything happens on the trip.”

“You do that. Have fun!”

 

x

 

Prompto isn’t much of a fan of long car rides, but he has to admit that the current one isn’t too bad. They crossed the Insomnian city limits around an hour and a half ago, and the amazing view from the bridge to Leide never fails to make him starry eyed.

Ignis had shown him on the map where they’d be going -- north of the Alstor Slough, to a region covered by trees and dotted with small to medium-sized lakes. It’s a bit novel to be going to Duscae; previously, his only experience with the world outside of Insomnia had been Galdin Quay and the roads leading to it, on their high school graduation trip.

At present, the car is mostly quiet. Noctis had gone back to sleep pretty much the moment the engine started, and Gladio took a book from his bag soon after. At his side, Ignis is content enough to let the drive take most of his focus, though his fingers drum slightly on the wheel when a song he knows starts to play on the radio.

Prompto tries to entertain himself by taking pictures and playing games on his phone, but the Leidian barren landscape fails to hold his attention for long -- though he had gotten some awesome sky shots -- and cycling through the same four games gets old real fast.

So instead, he lowers his camera and let’s his mind run free, so to speak. Ignis had told him they’d be setting up camp near a lake, and Prompto grins while trying to guess how long it will take for Noctis to go there to fish. He’s hoping to get some good shots on this trip; Gladio had sang the place’s praises in such a way that Prompto began to think that he wouldn’t mind being attacked by bugs if only he could see it for himself.

He’s also happy to hear that Ignis will be their chef for basically the entire stay there -- his mouth waters just at the thought of eating the man’s cooking for five days in a row. It had been a game of Tetris to fit all of their gear in the trunk -- their cooler, the folding chairs and table, the cooking utensils and portable stove, plus some bags of food and tools -- and it will most likely be hell to get all of those to the camp, but somehow the thought of all that he’ll have to carry doesn’t dampen his excitement. Well, not _too_ much.

Prompto looks at the rearview mirror and studies Noctis for a moment. His friend is all but dead to the world, sleeping peacefully with most of his weight supported by the car door and strands of his hair flying around his face.

He wants to brush those strands aside and pepper Noctis’ face with little kisses until he starts to wake; wants to hear Noctis grumble for being pulled out of sleep's embrace but still smile because of Prompto's actions; wants to draw him into a lazy _good morning_ kiss and then see those beautiful blue eyes make their appearance as he blinks awake.

He _longs_ to do those things, but can’t. Prompto had accepted that Noctis doesn’t like him _that_ way a long time ago, and he’s learned how to deal with these sudden bursts of feeling: bask in them for a moment, then push them away into a corner, so they can be reviewed later if he wishes to do so.

He turns his head and goes back to staring at the arid landscape, hoping that Ignis won’t glance at him and notice the blush that is surely making itself at home in his cheeks. Not that it’d be any kind of surprise -- Prompto’s pretty sure both Ignis and Gladio know that he’s head over heels for Noctis, but they’re just too nice to say it, and are probably waiting for Prompto to tell them himself.

And all the things Noctis has been doing -- all the touches and gifts and trips -- have been slowly but surely peltering his defenses, chipping away at its edges at a mostly constant rate. It makes him _consider_ , just for a fraction of a second, that Noctis could _maybe_ like him too-- but Prompto always shuts down those lines of thought before they can get too far.

He’s been denying hope for _so long;_ letting it take root now is too big a risk. He doesn’t want to act on something he thought he saw and end up making things weird. Prompto likes their friendship and how easy it is to be around Noctis, and if that’s the only thing he’ll get, then he’s gonna treasure it.

He does wonder about what caused the change in Noctis, of course. His best friend is particular about who touches him, and _when_ , too. Prompto had learned to read the clues his body language provides; he knows when Noctis wants his space and when he wouldn’t mind being touched. Recently, however, Noctis has been way more receptive, even going as far as actively seeking out contact in a way that floors Prompto.

He’s ecstatic about it, obviously. Prompto knows himself to be a touchy-feely person, and the fact that the person closest to him has been more welcoming of it is _awesome_. What isn’t awesome is the way this change confuses his heart.

Whenever Noctis rests his head on Prompto’s shoulder, he can’t help but start thinking about how _easy_ it would be to bring him closer and just start kissing him, to sink his hand on that soft black hair and use the contact to deepen a kiss until they’re both breathless. He wants to know how it’d feel like, to be pressed from shoulder to knee to Noctis; to lay his head on Noctis’ chest and hear his heartbeat, to draw patterns on his skin much like Noctis had done a few weeks earlier, drunk from sleep.

Noctis’ actions have thrown him into a loop so severe that he feels like asking for the entire world to stop, just for a moment, to give him the chance to catch his breath. Of course, that’s never going to happen, so he tries to tough it out with the best weapons in his arsenal: rationalization and lots of kicking his own thoughts away. He’s happy that Noctis has been getting more comfortable around him, and that’s all there is to it. They’ve been friends for what, four years at this point? It’s a bit late for such a thing, but better late than never, yeah?

And whichever thoughts fail to go away with that approach are forcefully shoved away. Ideally, they’d be erased forever, but reality would never be so kind; instead, they come back to torment him at the golden time for such a thing: right as he tries to fall asleep.

They stop briefly at Hammerhead to stretch their legs and eat something. Noctis is semi-conscious when they drive away from the station, so Prompto starts talking to pass the time, even though all he gets in response are grunts and hums. It takes nearly forty-five minutes for Noctis to fall asleep again, something that Prompto is impressed by; Noctis’ usual limit is less than ten minutes.

Soon after that happens, however, the scenery really starts to change; trees become more common and grow taller the farther they go, and he catches glimpses of animals on the edge of the treeline. His entire focus goes to the camera again as he snaps shot after shot.

Thankfully, the landscape is interesting and novel enough to capture his attention for the rest of the trip to the national park, all thoughts of his current situation with Noctis left to the background in favor of his photography.

 

x

 

“Got everything?” Gladio asks.

Prompto takes stock of what he’s holding again and nods, seeing Ignis and Noctis do the same from the corner of his eyes.

“Good, let’s go,” Gladio says, immediately taking off, heading north.

“How far away is it?” Prompto asks, adjusting his grip on the two foldable chairs to keep them from slipping.

“Seeing as we’ve being weighed down by supplies, around twenty-five minutes or so,” Ignis replies.

Prompto groans internally at the thought of carrying the chairs, sleeping bags and his own bags for _twenty five_ minutes while walking through a wooded area. He sees Noctis’ shoulders sag as well, which makes him feel a little better -- at least he’s not the only one whining inside his own head.

“We’re making lunch when we get there, right?” Noctis pipes up, still blinking away the last vestiges of sleep from his eyes.

“Yes, but it will take a while, since we’ll still have to set everything up,” Ignis explains. Noctis sighs, shoulders dropping further.

“Keep up, slow-pokes,” Gladio calls a few paces ahead.

“Aye aye sir,” Prompto says, adjusting the chairs again and walking faster.

 

x

 

“Woah,” Prompto muses once they finally reach the campsite. A fire pit denotes the place, and they set down their bags and equipments around it. Prompto looks over the lake stretching in front of them, some fifteen meters from camp, with a short pier more or less in their direction. The midday sun is hitting the water straight on; the edge of the lake is only a blur in the distance.

“We’re allowed to fish there, right?” Noctis asks.

Gladio snickers, having probably anticipated the question. “Yeah, but not _too_ much.”

“Got it,” Noctis says with a firm nod. Prompto smiles.

Gladio recruits Noctis to help him with setting up the tent, and Prompto goes to help Ignis organize the food they’ve brought so that lunch can be prepared.

They eat sitting around the unlit fire pit, laughing and make plans for their stay. Ignis and Gladio express an interest in doing a hiking trail east of the camp. Prompto considers tagging along for a moment, but discards the idea in favor of keeping Noctis’ company while the other two are away.

They decide to go there the following morning, leaving the two of them alone until early afternoon. Prompto wonders how it will be like- hours alone with Noctis, in the woods where there isn’t much to hold their attention to. His best friend will probably want to fish some more once he’s awake, so Prompto admits that they’ll probably just hang out at the edge of the lake, in their usual comfortable silence.

Around an hour later, Noctis changes and takes his fishing gear and a small cooler with him to the short pier. Prompto is the next one to change, sighing in relief at the lighter fabric and coating himself with bug spray.

He watches Noctis for a moment, taking in how his friend is just settling into the peace it brings to him; setting up the fishing rod with all the calm in the world. It takes only a split second for Prompto to get a terrible, _terrible_ idea and grin shamelessly.

He starts jogging in Noctis’ direction, and then sprinting -- speeding up the closer he gets.

“Incoming!” he calls out, purposefully late, and Noctis barely has the time to drop the rod and start turning before Prompto tackles him to the water.

Noctis comes up sputtering; Prompto does so while laughing. Having been way more prepared for the impact, Prompto recovers first and quickly backs away from Noctis, still giggling.

“You’re gonna pay for that, you little shit,” Noctis says heatedly, pushing his hair away from his face.

Prompto starts swimming away, but he conveniently forgot that Noctis is _way_ more at ease in the water than himself. His ankle gets grabbed in a tight grip and Prompto can only squeal as he is pulled back and then pushed underwater.

He jabs Noctis’ sides until he gets free and sucks in a deep breath once his head is above the surface again. They stare at each other -- narrowed eyes and all -- with too-long, unstyled bangs sticking to their faces and droplets clinging to their lashes.

The standstill doesn't last for very long -- Prompto, impulsive as usual, is the one to break it. He brings up his arm and hits the water _hard_ , splashing it towards Noctis. His friend turns his head away and is mostly unaffected, but when he looks at Prompto again, it's clear that the competition has truly began.

“Oh, you’re _on,_ ” he says, with a wide grin that spells trouble for Prompto. He moves faster than expected, sending a wave that succeeds in leaving Prompto sputtering.

From that point, they began chasing each other around the lake, doing their best to push the other underwater -- or pull, if the other achieves that goal -- and filling the previous serene silence with their screams, squeals and laughter.

“Children,” Gladio says with a smirk from his vantage point on the pier. Noctis and Prompto stop, frozen on their previous position -- Prompto’s hand on the top of Noctis’ head, ready to dunk him, and Noctis pushing Prompto away.

“And yet you’re dying to join us,” Noctis fires back, a challenge clear on his tone.

“I don’t think it’d be a fair competition,” he says nonchalantly, shrugging lazily.

Prompto looks at Noctis and their eyes meet. They both nod.

“Well, we’ll just have to team up against you then,” Prompto says.

“You’re like, twice our size and Prom and I are pretty alike, so. Fair.”

“Don’t go crying to Iggy later -- remember that you asked for it,” Gladio concedes, grin becoming almost shark-like. He walks back a few steps and runs back to his previous position, cannonballing into the lake just to the right of both boys, who unhand each other to face their new enemy.

“Do you think we’ll regret this?” Prompto whispers as Gladio swims around a bit before coming back up.

“Probably. But we won’t let him come out unscathed, yeah?” Noctis replies, smirking.

“Yup!”

Gladio turns to face them right at the moment, and the game is _on_.

 

x

 

Later, Noctis and Prompto are soundly defeated and clinging to the pier like a lifeline, with their bodies beginning to ache. Gladio floats serenely to the side, but he’s out of breath too -- if the three of them had been on land, Noctis and Prompto could have said that they made him break out a sweat.

“Monster,” Prompto groans, pressing his forehead to the wooden pillar.

“I know,” Noctis agrees, letting go of the pier to float on his back.

“Told ya,” Gladio calls from his spot. Noctis lifts an arm and flips him off.

“I brought you a few drinks,” Ignis says, approaching them.

“You’re a lifesaver, Iggy,” Prompto says, immediately taking one of the offered plastic cups and seeing the others come closer to do the same. It takes afew seconds of squinting for him to realize that something’s bugging him. “Oh hey, you’re without your glasses! Does that mean you’re joining us?”

“Indeed I will,” Ignis nods, smiling. “What is the point of going on a camping trip if you don’t enjoy it, hm?”

“Yeah! I’d offer to do some laps with you, but I think I’m too dead for that.”

“Same,” Noctis says, drifting farther away. Prompto goes closer and slowly pulls him back by the arm.

“That’s quite alright. Gladio will just have to do,” he says with a slight grin, lowering himself into the water calmly. Prompto is hit with the thought that Ignis the only one who hasn’t jumped or been thrown into the lake, and his lips curl up in a smile.

“Oh, and Prompto -- you forgot to put on sunscreen, and it’s showing,” Ignis points out.

“Ah! Yeah, I only put on bug spray… I didn’t know I’d be tackling Noctis at that point.”

“Little shit,” Noctis rolls his eyes, righting himself on the water. “Pfft- your nose is all red already,” he laughs.

Prompto narrows his eyes and splashes Noctis.

“Children, please. Let’s not start this again, yes? Prompto, you should put some sunscreen on, even though it’ll be a moot point by now.”

“Yes sir, I will do that,” Prompto salutes, climbing onto the pier and feeling his muscles protest at the action. He stumbles before firming his steps and sets out for the camp.

 

x

 

Prompto comes back to the lake considerably more tired than he felt when leaving, and thus pesters Noctis until he lets Prompto cling to his shoulders as he swims. Ignis and Gladio are doing their laps in the distance and the world _feels_ quiet and peaceful.

Prompto would love to come a little closer and hug Noctis’ shoulders, cling to him like a koala and simply enjoy the contact and the sun on his skin. In moments such as these, he almost understands why Noctis naps so much -- it feels like the perfect atmosphere to simply drift off.

“We should go back,” Noctis says, tiredness seeping into his voice.

Prompto hums in agreement and off they go. Noctis gives him a hand to climb onto the pier and they stumble to camp together, taking turns to change into dry clothes.

“I wanna sleep,” Noctis says, rubbing one of his eyes like a child.

 _He’s adorable,_ Prompto thinks, lips curling into a soft and sleepy smile. “There’s nothing stopping us, man. Our sleeping bags are all ready to be used and there’s nothing we have to do,” he shrugs.

“You’re right. We’re going to sleep,” Noctis says firmly, a fraction more awake. He pulls Prompto to the tent by the wrist and they collapse into their adjacent sleeping bags. Propto would freak out a little about the proximity, but his brain is already shutting down.

“Night, Prom,” Noctis says, face already smushed on a pillow.

 _It’s still afternoon,_ Prompto thinks and laughs out loud. “Night, Noct.”

In mere seconds, they’re both out.

 

x

 

Ignis wakes them up around 7pm to eat. They spend a few hours talking and playing cards before succumbing -- again, in Prompto and Noctis’ case -- to sweet sleep.

The following day dawns bright and clear. Prompto awakens with the motion of Ignis leaving the tent and takes a moment to commit to memory how it feels to wake up amidst nature; to notice the lighter air, the lack of car sounds and the different bird songs.

He crawls out of the tent, brushing sleep out of his eyes and hair off his face. A minute is spent squinting up at the sky, seeing sparse clouds and feeling a faint breeze.

“Good morning,” Ignis whispers, mindful of the other two. “I trust you slept well?”

“Morning,” Prompto yawns. “I did -- I was so tired that Gladio’s snoring didn’t even register.”

Ignis’ lips curl. “A blessing. After so many years of sleepovers and camping trips, I’ve learned to tune it off.”

“Props to you,” Prompto says, sitting heavily on his camp chair.

“I was wondering- though it wasn’t too obvious, Gladio was quite tired due to all the playing around with the two of you on the lake. I suspect he might wake up later than planned, since he didn’t have the benefit of a nap. If you wish, you could wake up Noctis and explore the surroundings for a while, get some of the photos you wanted.”

“That’d be pretty nice, yeah,” he says, considering, and then groans. “Though- ugh, waking up Noct. Why do I always get that task?” he asks, exaggerating his displeasure with a pout.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Ignis chuckles. “He would rather wake up to you than the two of us.”

Prompto squints at Ignis, feeling a blush creeping up to his cheeks. “I don’t know how to answer to that,” he says at last.

“Then don’t, and go wake him up.”

“Ack,” Prompto grumbles, but gets up again.

He enters the tent carefully, not wanting to wake the big guy up, and sits next to Noctis.

“Nooooct,” he whispers in a sing-song voice, leaning in to say it closer to his ear. “Wake up, buddy.”

No response.

Prompto locates Noctis’ sides over the thin blanket and starts to tickle him, stopping once his friend gives a full-bodied twitch -- an attempt to escape.

“C’mon Noct, time to wake up,” he tries again, seeing Noctis’ face scrunch up in annoyance. “If you don’t get up I’ll tickle you more and you know it.”

Even with the threat, Noctis still settles back into sleep, so Prompto shrugs and follows through it.

“Let me sleep,” Noctis croaks with only one eye open.

“Can’t do that, bud. Time to rise and shine.”

“ _Why?_ ”

Prompto lays on his own sleeping bag and scoots closer to Noctis -- remembering how he had wanted to do that hours earlier, to leech Noctis’ body heat and then lay his head above Noctis’ heart and be lulled to sleep by the steady beats -- and smiles wide.

“Because we gotta _exploooreee_ ,” he sings, snickering when Noctis scoffs and turns to the side, presenting his back to Prompto.

He wants to hug Noctis, to lay his forehead against Noctis’ nape and feel the soft hairs tickle his skin; he wants to breath him in, hold him tight and never let go -- or better yet, wants Noctis to do that to him, to spoon him and cuddle him and maybe pepper his shoulders with kisses. Knowing him, he’d want to kiss all the freckles he could see, making Prompto laugh.

Instead, he continues to tickle him, adding some pokes from time to time. Noctis twitches and shifts, trying to contain his giggles. Eventually, he turns back to face Prompto -- faster than he had thought possible -- and grips his wrists to stop the assault.

“Godsdamnit Prom, you can be really stubborn when you want to,” he curses, voice still low.

“I know that, and use it to my full advantage.“ Prompto grins.

Noctis rolls his eyes and exists the tent, immediately followed by Prompto.

“Good morning, Noct,” Ignis says, not looking up from his phone.

Noctis’ only response is a grunt as he makes a beeline to the cooler for some water.

“As I told Prompto, I’ve decided to let Gladio sleep for longer, so we’ll go to the hiking trail later. The two of you may explore in the meantime.”

Noctis grunts again, but Ignis is clearly so used to his friend’s morning self that he doesn’t even blink at it.

“I’ll start getting ready!” Prompto beams, moving to his bag and feeling the usual photography-related excitement bubbling up.

 

x

 

They head to the woods right away, walking amongst the trees and looking for things to photograph -- well, Prompto does, at least. Noctis stays a few paces behind, more focused on not tripping than finding the sights.

“You’re enjoying the trip so far, right?” Noctis speaks out suddenly, apropos of nothing.

Prompto glances back. “I am! It’s cool to be so far from Insomnia, you know?”

Noctis hums his agreement. “It’s nice to be out here, though I’ll never be as enthusiastic about it as Gladio.”

“We all have our interests. I have my photography, you have your fishing, Gladio has his camping and outdoors activities and Iggy has cooking.”

“Yeah. I’m looking forward to fishing on a natural lake after so long -- I think the last time I did was some months before high school? After that I only fished around Insomnia proper.”

“Oh, that reminds me of something I’ve been meaning to ask- why didn’t you go camping while we were in high school? I’ve heard Gladio talk about his previous visits and one of them was around the time of our second year, right?”

Noctis tips his head down, letting his bangs obscure his face more than usual. “I became friends with you. Found it more interesting to stay at Insomnia with you than go camping _without_ you.”

Prompto _feels_ heat his own cheeks heat; feels it spread ‘til the roots of his hair. “D--” he tries, having to swallow before continuing -- “Didn’t know you were so sweet, Noct,” he says at last, trying to infuse his voice with some playfulness but probably failing.

“I try, sometimes,” Noctis shrugs, head still tilted down.

“ _Only_ sometimes.”

Noctis looks back at him, small smirk on his lips. “Yup.”

They walk in silence for a handful of minutes, and then Noctis clears his throat.

“Anyway, I would have gotten to fish yesterday, if it wasn’t for a certain, blond _someone._ ”

Prompto grins. “No regrets.”

“Little shit,” Noctis says, shaking his head, but Prompto knows that his smile is genuine.

“You love me anyway,” Prompto says, even though only the _thought_ of saying such a thing out loud makes his heart beat three times faster.

Noctis whispers something in response, but Prompto doesn’t catch it.

“What was that, bud?”

“Nothing,” Noctis says, catching up to Prompto and ruffling his hair vigorously, with a smile that is too tremulous at the edges to really convince Prompto. “Let’s find some more places for you to take pictures of, yeah?”

“...okay,” he replies, frowning at Noctis but unwilling to push the subject any further.

 

x

 

Eventually, they find a small clearing with the trees that caused it still mostly whole, if toppled over. Various flowers bloom in it, benefiting from the direct sunlight, and Prompto crouches on the ground to take photos from different angles while Noctis sits on one of the fallen trees.

Once Prompto is satisfied with the shots he’s gotten, he looks back at Noctis and is surprised to find his friend frowning in concentration, with lots of flowers on his lap and some more in his hand.

“What are you doing there?” he asks, curious, scooting closer.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Noctis asks, chuckling. “I’m weaving.”

“ _Dude_ , you know how to make flower crowns? When did you learn how to do that??”

“At Tenebrae, with Luna -- years ago. As you know, the country is famous for its flower fields, and she always loved playing in them. Especially the sylleblossom ones.”

“Sylleblossoms are so pretty,” Prompto sighs wistfully. “I hope I have the chance to photograph a few myself, one day.”

“In Tenebrae, you mean?”

“Of course! What’s the point of doing it if it isn’t in a field of blue, stretching as far as the eye can see?”

Noctis laughs and goes back to weaving. Prompto sees the perfect opportunity for a photo and takes it, smiling at how focused Noctis is on the flowers. He sits on the ground and leans against the slowly-rotting bark, setting the camera on his lap and keeping his hands around it.

At some point, he closes his eyes, and only realizes he’s done so when they snap open due to sudden pressure on his head. “Wha-” he says, bringing a hand up and feeling -- _flowers_.

He looks up at Noctis questioningly, and finds his friend smiling lopsidedly.

“Surprise,” he says, voice low and soft.

Prompto’s heart stops and restarts. “ _Noct_ ,” he exhales, fingers brushing gently against the petals of the various blossoms. He has no idea what to say-- his chest too full of _love_ for his brain to function properly. He looks around, trying to find something to talk about, and his gaze falls to the flowers Noctis had taken and not used.

He takes them from Noctis’ lap carefully, holding them like a bouquet, and meets Noctis’ eyes. “Teach me?”

Noctis explains to him how it’s done and links the first few, but Prompto’s fingers are shaking too hard for him to have any kind of success. It frustrates him a little -- he had wanted to return the gift, but his body won’t _let_ him.

“Don’t worry about it, Prom. It took me a while to get the hang of it as well,” Noctis soothes him after Prompto huffs. “Your fingers just have to get used to the motions.”

“Yeah, I think I won’t be making a flower crown today,” Prompto concedes, frowning at the blossoms covering his legs. “But, I still can do this!”

‘ _This_ ’ being taking a flower with yellow petals and reaching up towards Noctis to lay it above his ear, curling the stem to make it stay in place. He’s so set on it that he only notices Noctis’ blush when settling back on his previous spot, and his own cheeks heat up when he realizes what just happened.

 _Oh Six, why did I do that?_ Prompto asks himself, because Noctis is thrice as handsome with the red on his cheeks and the yellow above his ear. He looks so _stunned_ as well; it only makes the image even more adorable.

 _I could kiss him,_ he thinks as the moment between them stretches, both unwilling to move. _I could lean in and finally taste those lips and it’d probably be the happiest moment of my life._

 _I can’t_ , is the thought that follows, as he remembers all the years sealing that _love_ away in a box; all the years telling himself to abandon hope and be grateful for what they already have. Clinging to that line of thinking, Prompto summons all his energy and makes himself stand up and open his mouth.

“I- I gotta go,” he stammers out pathetically, almost vibrating out of his skin and cringing internally at the words. He glances at Noctis one more time -- sees the surprise in his face and a ‘ _wait!_ ’ on the tip of his tongue, hand half-raised to hold onto Prompto -- and turns away, speed-walking to the camp without looking back and simultaneously pushing down the mental images of what _could_ have happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my defense, I was not the one to choose where to cut the chapters. This was supposed to be an oneshot, originally, so I left all the cutting for my beta, and, well ;)
> 
> Last part will be coming on next wednesday!
> 
> ps: the thing that Noctis whispered was 'yeah, i do'
> 
> Tumblr: @thefiresofmustafar


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, the much awaited conclusion ;D

Gladio is just coming out of the tent when Prompto gets to camp. Ignis takes one look at him and immediately frowns, looking to the direction he had come from.

“Is everything alright? Where is Noctis?” he asks. Gladio stares at him too, looking more awake with each passing second.

“Everything is fine, I- um, I’m pretty sure he’ll be coming around soon, he was just. Weaving a flower crown,” Prompto stutters, fidgeting under the weight of their gazes.

“Like the one on your head?” Gladio drawls, eyebrow raised.

“Ah-” Prompto lifts a hand to touch it, remembering he hadn’t taken the crown off. A part of him insists on leaving it there -- refuses to be separated from it -- so he lowers his arm and fiddles with the camera instead. “Yeah. I- I’ll just- do something.”

He dives into the tent and sits on his sleeping bag, hugging his knees and willing his face to cool off. It feels like an entire beehive decided to take up residence on his stomach, constantly bumping the walls and generally making a riot. His brain, meanwhile, simply continues to show him Noctis’ surprised expression in 4K definition.

 _Noctis and his stupidly pretty face_ , he starts to rant internally. _Doesn’t he see that he’s almost killing me with all that cute? Astrals have mercy on my soul, why did he have to start being even more considerate and adorable and thoughtful and--_

He buries his face into a pillow and screams, trying to contain the desire to find Noctis again and _kiss_ him -- set all of his past doubts on fire and probably throw himself on the flames when the deed is done.

He caves in to the need to scream at someone else about it and takes out his phone, immediately opening Cindy’s text history.

 

 **Prompto:** cindy

 **Prompto:** cindyyyy

 **Prompto:** ciiiiindyyyyy

 **Prompto:** cccciiiinnnndddyyyyyyy

 

He vibrates in place, waiting for her to look at her phone. He almost yells in triumph when her status finally changes to _online_.

 

 **Cindy:** what did he do now

 

Instead of writing out a reply, Prompto taps the little camera icon and snaps a selfie with one of his hands covering his face and sends it along.

 

 **Cindy:** he did that for you? aww how cute

 **Prompto:** his sidjfondkvmlvbght his _smile_ when i turned after he put it on my head i askdjkaldnsl

 **Prompto:** my heart cant deal with this, im gonna die

 **Cindy:** no kaomojis, lots of keysmashing. it’s bad then

 **Prompto:** you dont get it i almost kissed him

 **Prompto:** he was looking at me all stunned and blushing and the lighting wwas perfect and askçmvlfenj

 **Cindy:** stunned? at what?

 **Prompto:** _i put a flower on his ear_

 **Cindy:** ohhhh boy.

 **Prompto:** yEAH i wanted to return the thing and make him a flower crown too but i was too nervous so my fingers were spazzing out and next thing i know im reaching up and nuivefjmkl,vdl cllkfnerkf

 **Cindy:** you ran away, didn’t you

 **Prompto:** …

 **Cindy:** prompto. i’ve told you you can’t just flee when something like that happens! you never know what he’ll do

 **Prompto:** _thats kinda the scary part tbh_

 **Cindy:** >:(

 **Prompto:** _oh no not the emoji of disapproval_

 **Cindy:** it’s what you deserve.

 **Prompto:** noooo

 **Cindy:** i know better than to tell you to do something, to pursue it yourself, because you won’t listen

 **Cindy:** but you can’t do that, blondie. you haven’t been freaking out at me this frequently since you first realized you love him

 **Cindy:** ever think that this might be for a reason? that he’s trying to start something but won’t give him the chance?

 **Cindy:** he’s a shy one, isn’t he? you gotta let him do his thing. stop sabotaging yourself.

 **Prompto:** he doesnt like me like that

 **Cindy:** how can you be so sure? did you develop some telepathy and didn’t tell me? the two of you might be thick as thieves but you don’t know what’s going on his mind, just like he doesn’t know what’s going on on yours

 **Cindy:** eventually the other two will tire of all that dancing around and just knock your heads together

 **Prompto:** i am trying to beat the voice with a stick but you keep making it stronger, please stop

 **Cindy:** ...i won’t even ask what voice, but i’m not gonna shut up bout this.

 

Prompto hears voices outside, so he lowers his phone and pays attention. Once he recognizes Noctis’ voice, he starts praying that Noctis doesn’t enter the tent -- which, obviously, is exactly what happens.

His eyes are immediately drawn to the flower still on his ear, and he notices Noctis looking up -- at the flower crown, most likely -- as well. They hold position for two or three heartbeats before Noctis starts crawling to his backpack in the corner.

Prompto sighs and hugs his knees again as Noctis ruffles through it and finally takes out a cap.

 _He’s going to fish, then,_ Prompto concludes. His heart is working overtime as he _waits_ \-- for Noctis to say something, or leave, or- something. He tries to push down the disappointment when his friend moves closer to the tent flap, cursing himself for not having the courage to say anything, and then Noctis turns.

“We-” he starts and then stops, frowning slightly and clearly unsure. “We’re okay… right?”

Prompto _melts_ a little, feeling himself muscles relax. “Yeah, Noct. We’re okay,” he nods, doing his best to put on a genuine smile.

Noctis’ frown disappears and a near grin takes its place. Prompto melts a little more.

“I’m glad,” Noctis says, then leaves.

 _He’s so sweet,_ Prompto squeals internally in a way that is usually reserved for when he sees cute chocobos. Shrugging off some of the previous worry and anxiety, he picks up the phone again.

 

 **Cindy:** now, be a good kid and tell me that you’ll stop running away from him

 **Prompto:** i’ll try

 **Prompto:** but i make no guarantees cause sometimes is either kiss him or flee

 **Cindy:** i’ll keep dreaming of the day in which you’ll choose the first option instead

 **Cindy:** now, aren’t you on that camping trip you mentioned? put the phone down and go enjoy it

 **Prompto:** yes ma’am, will do ＼（＠￣∇￣＠）／

 

He trades the phone for the camera and starts going through the photos he’s taken so far, letting the familiarity of it calm his spirits. Once Ignis and Gladio leave, he’ll go join Noctis at the pier, to really reassure the other that everything’s fine.

Until then, he’ll keep letting the photos distract him from the bubbling voice of hope Cindy had managed to awaken.

 

x

 

Prompto makes sure to put on sunscreen before going outside this time around -- his previous mistake has left him with an itchy nose, peeling skin and sore shoulders that he cannot put pressure on.

With a plastic cup filled with juice in hand, he makes his way to the pier, studying the image before him -- Noctis’ silhouette against the backdrop of the lake, that perfectly reflects the cloudless sky.

“Heyaz,” he greets once he’s close enough, and presents the cup. “Brought you some juice,” he grins.

“Thanks,” Noctis says, holding the fishing rod firmly in one hand and bring the beverage to his lips with the other.

“So, how many have you caught so far?” Prompto asks, sitting down. Noctis shuffles his feet for a moment before doing the same.

“Two- one small, one medium.”

“We’re eating feeeesh tonight, then,” Prompto grins, trying not to stare at the flower tucked carefully in the space between the cap and Noctis’ ear.

His friend snorts. “Most likely, yep. Will have to confirm it with Specs when they some back.”

Prompto hums and moves closer to the edge of the lake, to dip his feet in the water. He swings them back and forth to dispel the restless energy he accumulates by standing still, cheering when a third fish falls for the lure and encouraging Noctis until it joins its similars on the cooler.

“Prom?”

“Hmm?”

“I… kinda wanted to take a photo of you with that flower crown.”

One instant blush, coming right up!

Prompto stares at Noctis wide-eyed for a moment, processing what he’s just heard. With some effort, he forces the mental keysmashing to stop and tells his brain to provide a good enough reply to that.

“...Only if you’re in it too,” is what comes out. Prompto nearly throws himself at the lake, because he’s clearly a lost cause.

Noctis’ cheeks become redder, but he nods in the end, taking his phone from his jacket’s pocket.

Prompto shifts closer as his friend unlocks his phone and opens the camera app, but then the cap catches his eye and once again he moves without thought -- reaches out to take it off, while holding the flower in place with another hand.

“We’re not taking a photo with you using that,” he explains, thankfully without stammering when Noctis is the one to stare at him with wide eyes. He pats himself on the back for the smoothness of the answer and gets in position for the pic -- pressing closer and grinning wide for the camera as their arms intertwine almost automatically.

The positioning of the camera isn’t perfect, but the lighting and the blush in Noctis’ cheeks are more than enough to make up for it. With the phone stored away one more, Noctis casts his line and Prompto puts space between them, even though he’d love to stay close and maybe put an arm around Noctis’ waist.

Eventually, he gets tired of sitting and shifts until he’s further away from the edge, to have enough space to lie down. Just when his head is about to touch the wood of the pier, Noctis makes a noise and a hand cups the back of his head -- making Prompto’s eyes fly open.

“Ah-- You… you were gonna crush a part of it, so I- I’ll just take it off for now, okay?” Noctis stutters and gently slides the crown off Prompto’s head, setting it between them. “There. For safekeeping,” he says with a small smile.

Prompto watches him, momentarily robbed of speech. “Thanks, Noct,” he says at last, throwing an arm over his head to cover it from the sun and hide his pink cheeks.

They stay there, enjoying each other’s company in silence, until Ignis and Gladio come back from the trail.

 

x

 

The third day of the trip is quiet; Gladio shows Prompto some of the places he had mentioned weeks earlier and uses their walking around to share some of the survival tips he’s acquired over the years. Prompto listens attentively, even though the camera barely leaves its faithful place in front of his face.

Later on that same day, they take some time to discuss _when_ they’ll be returning to Insomnia. Noctis and Prompto both miss the city’s comforts -- their own beds and bathrooms and easily accessible electrical outlets -- and vote to stick with the four-days plan and thus go back on Friday. As expected, Gladio wouldn’t mind staying an extra day, but is soundly outnumbered when Ignis sides with the two boys.

It’s currently Wednesday, meaning that they still have another full day at camp. Though Ignis' original plan was to return to the city at basically the asscrack of dawn on Friday, Noctis whines until Ignis agrees to postpone their departure until after lunch. Prompto shrugs and accepts it without argument. It isn't like he has a lot to do once he gets home either way; his ace agenda has nothing penciled in but a nice long shower and an ungodly number of hours allocated to being unconscious on his soft, soft mattress.

The night is spent playing a word-guessing game Prompto has on his phone. Since they’re only four people, they make two duos and try their best to have their companions guess correctly without saying the prohibited words.

It ends up being way more fun than expected -- there are times in which whoever is holding the phone for the round just stares at the card, wondering how the _hell_ they’ll manage to lead the other to the right word with the given taboo ones. Ignis and Gladio abuse their vocabulary prowess and give synonyms that even the game couldn’t think of, while Noctis and Prompto go for outrageous hints that only the other would understand.

They laugh at each other until their stomachs hurt, and keep talking about it until it’s time for bed. Prompto snickers with Noctis until Gladio throws a shirt at his face and tells them to shut up and go to sleep _or else,_ and then they try their best to do as instructed.

Prompto falls asleep thinking about how nice it’d be to do so holding Noctis’ hand.

 

x

 

Once the sun has sunk low enough on the horizon for the temperature to drop to acceptable levels on Thursday, the two boys sit on the grass close to the lake and start talking about whatever. The stunning landscape makes Prompto think about all the places he’d like to visit and photograph in the future, and soon enough Noctis is pinching in well.

“I’d like to go to the Vesperpool, eventually. It’s got lots of amazing fishing spots, or so I hear in forums and the like,” he says.

“And the scenery is to die for,” Prompto sighs wistfully. “There’s so many places I wanna go -- here in Lucis, but also in Accordo and Tenebrae and Niflheim, if I ever manage to get permission to go there -- but it’s just so hard to plan trips and then actually put them in practice,” he frowns.

Noctis stays silent long enough for Prompto to look at him, wondering if he’s somehow fallen asleep mid-conversation. What he sees, instead, is his friend’s usual thinking face: slightly furrowed brows and eyes staring at the distance, with his head tilted to the side.

“We could do something like… a road trip for our graduation, maybe? We could hit at least the places in Lucis, and if we start planning it soon enough, Iggy and Gladio would probably be able to come with as well…”

Prompto stares for a moment, mouth falling open as the words awaken his imagination. He can even see it already -- they’d explore Duscae, have fun at Lestallum, see the Meteor and the Vesperpool and the Ravatogh Mountain, then rest at the old Lucis Caelum house at Cape Caem -- and excitement begins to build at an exponential rate.

“ _Really??_ ” is all that he’s able to say, but Noctis knows him well and instantly grins.

“ _Yeah_ , dude, we could totally do it,” he says.

“Yes!” Prompto screams, getting up to run in circles to use some of the building energy as Noctis laughs. _Such a beautiful sound_ , he thinks, and his beaming grin becomes a smaller, fonder smile.

When Prompto turns to glance at the camp, Ignis and Gladio are looking their way too. It doesn’t take long for them to go back to whatever they had been doing; they’re all used to Prompto’s energy level, at this point.

He all but throws himself back at Noctis’ side once he’s satisfied with the slight burn on his legs, and receives an arm around his shoulders and a hair ruffle for his troubles.

“You done?” Noctis asks, still snickering.

“For now,” Prompto winks.

“I’ll take it. Now, as I was saying, the road trip would probably be only around Lucis, but we could talk with Luna at some point and see about a trip there to tour Tenebrae and Accordo,” Noctis says with a pleased smile.

The mention of Luna brings up the thoughts and jealousy Prompto loathes to harbor, but never manages to truly push away. They are so entangled with his self-doubt and his _longing_ to be with Noctis that it’s hard to say which is which.

It’s just- Luna is stunning and rich and smart and _perfect_ , and Prompto is just his boring old self. Not that he hates her for it -- god, he’d knife himself in the gut before hating someone as good and kind as Luna -- but Prompto can’t help but make comparisons and find himself sorely lacking.

He pushes those thoughts away with an ease that comes with practice and summons some of his previous enthusiasm. “That’d be amazing,” he says at last, voice thankfully steady.

“Ah- this talk about Luna and Tenebrae and travelling reminds me of something,” Noctis beams, unaware of Prompto’s heart all but stopping inside his chest.

 _Oh dear gods, please don’t tell me that you’ll be going there,_ Prompto quickly prays, remembering how Noctis used to visit her every summer -- before he became friends with Prompto, that is. He doesn’t want Noctis to go; he doesn’t know how he’d deal with not having him be only two trains away after over three years of it being so.

“What is it?”

“She’ll be coming to Insomnia next summer!”

Prompto’s heart goes back to beating normally.

“Really? It’s usually you going to visit, isn’t it?”

“It is, but now that she’s graduated and stuff, she wants to finally meet the city. Wants to meet you too,” Noctis grins, bumping Prompto’s shoulders with his own.

Prompto’s brain short-circuits for a moment. “She _does_?” he asks, incredulous, swallowing back the question that would follow -- _why?_ \-- because he knows that it would make Noctis frown.

“Yeah, dude. From time to time she’ll tell me that it’s a pity that texting between the two of you never took off, because she- uh... She wants to know if all I’ve told her about you is true,” he says, lifting a hand to scratch his cheek near the end in what seems to be embarrassment.

“Ah… That’s my fault, I guess. I just-”

“Nah, there’s no need for you to explain yourself, Prom,” Noctis says. “Whatever the reason is, it’s okay, and you don’t need to push yourself into it. She simply wants to know how it feels to be your friend, I guess,” he shrugs.

Prompto brings one of his legs up and hugs it. It’s not that he doesn’t want to be Luna’s friend. He does, a lot; because he’d bet that it would be awesome to have a friend as amazing as Luna. But he cannot do so in good conscience while still feeling all of that ugly jealousy -- it doesn’t feel _right_.

“Hey,” Noctis calls, gently jostling him. “Look at me for a moment,” he says, voice low.

Prompto turns his head to obey, knowing that all of his uncertainty must be as clear on his face as his countless freckles.

“You do know I only have one best bud and that’s _you_ , right?” Noctis smiles, lopsided in a way that Prompto loves, with fondness and affection all but pouring from his expression.

And oh, Prompto knows what he’s doing; his own self-doubt is no secret to Noctis, who gladly reminds him from time to time that Prompto actually _matters_ something -- a whole lot in fact -- to him.

After giving a little nod to show that the message has been received, he turns his head away -- unable to continue looking at such a soft expression for fear of jumping him on the spot. _Astrals, Noct, how am I supposed to keep my love for you hidden when you look at me lik--_

_Wh-_

_Did he jus-_

**_Did he just kiss my cheek?????????_ **

_Oh my funicoidsuns fuCKING GODS he owiejreuinjeknmc kissed????????woifejf niweune my cheek!!!!!!!!_

_Those were his lips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On my cheek!!!!!!!!!!???????_

_Oh my fucking dear gods I’ve never seen Noctis kiss anyone or anything not even his dad not even a cute kitty but HE!!!!!!!! KISSED!!!!!!!!!!!! MY CHEEK??????? fiejrutgnkomfeoinvteuorifetmvobr brripfpvf_

_Please Astrals let this mean what I hope it means I can’t oisoijdfsfnjdoijffo believe I know what his lips feel foifsundjiksmc jvienoufhwiehbkkevn like now diuwerfneijiwenciwube_

_Does this mean he ofeijaiojdsoijdalkncsçnvek lik-- OFDDFHVJIFUDVEINVJNVEIJNVRVBE gods how much of a loser am I, I can’t say this even in my mind_

_He held my hand and got me that figurine at the amusement park and has used me as a pillow so many times lately and he keeps_ **_smiling_ ** _all warm and soft at me and if I’m reading this wrong after all this fucking time I will climb the Insomnian Wall and_ **_yeet myself at the ocean_ **

“-mpto? Prompto!”

“Wuh!?”

Prompto’s senses come back online slowly. He hears twin sighs of relief and looks around until his brain processes the images it’s receiving -- namely, of both Ignis and Noctis kneeling in front of him, clearly worried.

“Are you alright? Do you feel faint or dizzy?” Ignis asks, studying him carefully. Prompto has to avoid looking at Noctis’ fire-red cheeks, lest the spiral consumes him again.

“I-- I’m fine?”

Ignis quirks an exasperated brow at him, but Prompto’s body is still rebooting, so that’s all he’s gonna get.

“Let’s go back to camp and get you some water,” he sighs and helps Prompto stand, holding him still for a second when his legs threaten to give up. “Come along, Noctis,” Ignis says once they start walking.

Prompto is hyper-aware of Noctis for the rest of the day.

 

x

 

 _Awkward_ would be a good way to describe the atmosphere of their last hours at camp.

Prompto can’t stop staring at Noctis as his mind works furiously to analyze the past few weeks, which means that whenever _Noctis_ looks at him, their eyes meet and Prompto’s heart all but trips on its own non-existent feet.

They start packing their bags as soon as they wake up on Friday, with Gladio trying to fill the silence from time to time. Occasionally, when Prompto glances at him at precisely the right moment, he’ll catch the big guy smirking; Ignis, on the other hand, prefers to frown at both him and Noctis and simply sigh.

Gladio calls shotgun before they even reach the car. Prompto groans petulantly, claiming that that’s _his seat,_ but the other only laughs at his face and tells him that he shouldn’t have assumed there’d be no competition. As a consequence, Prompto goes on the backseat with Noctis.

His best friend, however, is nothing if not predictable when it comes to sleeping; Noctis is dead to the world not even twenty minutes after they depart, lulled by the car’s movement. Prompto takes advantage of the situation and drinks his fill of the sight as his brain processes thoughts and memories at a speed nearing that of the planet’s escape velocity.

In hindsight -- if Prompto actually manages to accept the idea that Noctis _likes_ him -- it all makes perfect sense. All the little touches on his hair and arms and back, all the smiles and grins and soft laughs; all the times Noctis insisted on paying, or suggested going somewhere else, somewhere new. Those had all been changes that couldn’t be explained away with mere friendship, and now that Cindy had finally managed to awaken his forgotten -- suppressed -- hope, Prompto kinda wants to throw himself off the car for not noticing those hints before.

 _Gods_ , there’s so many things he wants to do at that moment, all related to Noctis: kiss him, curse him, hit him, cuddle him and play with that soft hair and--

 _I’m so fucked_ , Prompto sighs, already resigned.

It’s time for some serious consideration, he decides -- about what he’ll do and how he’ll do it, now that he has all that new information. Impulsive as he might be in some areas, this is something Prompto holds too dear for that approach to be acceptable, which means he’ll have to plan.

 _Well_ , he thinks, looking to the landscape. _I have plenty of time and nothing to do, so let’s get started, I guess._

 

x

 

The following Tuesday, Prompto goes over to Noctis’ apartment to watch some random movies and laze around to enjoy the last few weeks of summer vacation. They spend the entirety of the first movie gravitating closer and closer to one another on the sofa, scooting and shifting until their shoulders are pressed together.

Around the first quarter of the second movie, Prompto finally gets the courage to let his head fall to Noctis’ shoulder. Noctis almost _jumps,_ and it’d be funny if it wasn’t so nerve wracking. He pretends to be tired, bringing up mental images of people yawning until it causes one -- just to make it extra believable.

He gets comfortable on Noctis’ bony shoulder and his heart goes back to its normal rhythm as he inhales the scents associated with his best friend. The movie becomes white noise and his eyelids start to drop for real, so he adjusts their shared blanket -- present due to Noctis’ potent ac unit -- and starts to doze off.

Moments before Prompto falls asleep, Noctis’ closest arm moves to encircle his waist and pull him closer, soft and hesitant. Prompto goes easily, letting his best friend take on more of his weight, and smiles before going under.

 

x

 

Prompto continues to experiment in the following days.

When they find themselves caught in the heart of Insomnia during rush hour again, being constantly jostled by the fast-walking passerbys, Prompto uses his annoyance as courage and pushes through the crowd to get closer to Noctis and slot their hands together, lacing their fingers tightly. When his friend looks back at him, face beginning to flush, Prompto swallows back the nerves and says that this way, they won’t lose each other to the masses. Noctis nods after a pause and they resume their walking.

 

x

 

Prompto has always been a touchy-feely person; he will throw an arm around Noctis’ shoulders, or punch his arm, or ruffle his hair, and it’s no big deal.

But he adds a spin to that too: when walking side by side and joking around, Prompto decides to put an arm around Noctis’ waist instead of his shoulders, bringing them closer together than usual.

Noctis lifts his own arm and drapes it around Prompto’s neck, and he can’t help but marvel at how well they fit together in that position -- it feels as if he had been made to be right there, pressed flush to Noctis’ side.

 

x

 

Prompto also can’t help the way his touch _lingers_ on Noctis’ skin or over his hair. He’ll take advantage of a teasing moment to mess up the latter and next thing he knows, he’s patting it gently, admiring the soft strands as Noctis melts into the touch.

“If you keep that up, I’m gonna fall asleep,” he warns, voice already becoming slurred. It’s cute, how much of a weak spot his head is -- Prompto loves it.

Lips stretching into an unseen smirk, he brings up his left hand and starts to massage Noctis’ scalp. His friend groans and grumbles and absolutely sinks into it, becoming putty in his hands. Prompto is sure that if such a thing were possible, Noctis would be purring up a storm.

Prompto waits until he is definitely asleep only to wait some more before finally giving in to the temptation to lay a feather-light kiss on Noctis’ temple, _yearning_ to know how it feels. His soul is almost ejected from his body when his friend grunts and shifts, but a few heart-stopping seconds later, he settles back into the sofa and Prompto finally breathes again.

 _Worth it,_ he decides when his heartbeat finally goes back to normal, snickering at himself.

 

x

 

 **Prompto:** ciiindyyyy

 **Cindy:** howdy!

 **Cindy:** only one text today, i see. what’s up, blondie?

 **Prompto:** i don’t know what else to dooo

 **Prompto:** i want to Know if he likes me like That and he’s been reacting pretty well to the things i’ve been doing but there still hasn’t been anything to really. Confirm it

 **Cindy:** you know that you won’t be able to get the certainty you want without taking risks, right?

 **Cindy:** the things you’ve said you’re doing, they’re nice, yeah, definitely on that platonic-romantic edge. but you’ll have to do something bigger to know for real

 **Prompto:** hhhhhhhhhofisejiunibsjbnsbdkf

 **Cindy:** if you choose to just wait there’s the chance you’d stay in this weird limbo forever, which would suck

 **Cindy:** go get him, for astrals’ sake

 **Prompto:** _but what should i do_

 **Cindy:** there’s the option of planting a big one on him ;)

 **Prompto:** cindy **_no_ **

**Cindy:** still worth the try

 **Cindy:** i don’t know what i can suggest, blondie. ask him out, maybe?

 **Prompto:** to where??

 **Cindy:** somewhere romantic, for starters

 **Cindy:** didn’t the two of you go to a pretty datey restaurant a month or two ago?

 **Prompto:** you mean the one with the staff that knew his parents?

 **Prompto:** would that really be a good choice?

 **Cindy:** well, the way you gushed about it at the time certainly gives it some good points, plus it’s somewhere you’re at least a little familiar with already

 **Cindy:** which is something that could help with the nerves you will undoubtedly have

 **Prompto:** i am being called out

 **Cindy:** it’s what true friends do

 **Prompto:** ˓˓(ᑊᘩᑊ⁎)

 **Cindy:** :)

 

x

 

Prompto is about to leave Noctis’ apartment when he finally gets the courage to do it. They had spent the afternoon playing a new game, passing the controller around and discussing the story and mechanics of it -- a typical, comfortable day.

“Uh, Noct?” he starts before losing his nerve. Prompto is standing near the corridor, unable to stop fidgeting and shifting in place; Noctis is still on the sofa, mostly focused on the TV, and doesn’t even glance at him at first.

“Yeah?”

“I- uh… I was wondering if we could go to that restaurant, Biagotti’s, this weekend?” Prompto asks, raising his hands to toy with the straps of his backpack as Noctis looks at him with something like _hope_ in his eyes.. “Just you and me again,” he adds, voice so low that it’s almost a whisper, biting his lower lip afterwards.

“Yes!” Noctis exclaims, clearly surprising even himself with his high pitch if the way he jumps is any indication. “I mean, yes, we can totally go there, sure!”

Prompto nearly throws himself at the walls, feeling his heart soar and the butterflies in his stomach double in quantity due to Noctis’ reaction.

“I’ll pick you up at seven?” Noctis asks.

“Sure, that would work,” Prompto nods and takes a step back, getting closer to the door. “See you then?”

“Definitely,” Noctis grins.

 

x

 

They decide via texting to go there on Friday.

Prompto is a _mess_ as sunset approaches, which surprises absolutely no one. He spams Cindy’s chat with photos of his own clothes and whines until she all but chooses his outfit herself, grumbling at him for the entire process. He gets ready and sits on the sofa for a while -- still over half an hour before seven -- but is too restless to stay there, so he starts pacing instead.

He pesters Cindy until she threatens to come over and punch him in the face if he texts her one more time before Noctis arrives. He does so out of fear of her following through, terrified of the idea of having his first date with Noctis while sporting a black eye.

Prompto almost trips on his own feet when Noctis rings his doorbell. He opens the door with so much force that it almost escapes his grasp and slams into the wall, and then dedicates a few seconds to just _dying_ and figuratively melting onto the floor at how handsome Noctis looks and at the hints of cologne he can smell in the air.

The ride there is a bit awkward -- there’s lot of verbal fumbling and charged silences as they try to find something to talk about. Prompto can’t find it in himself to mind it too much, however; the fact that Noctis is nervous as well soothes him a little.

Both of them blush when Ornella stops mid-greeting to give them a full-body once-over, grinning brilliantly and clearly pleased. She leads them to the most secluded table available, and then makes them blush some more by insisting on bringing candles to decorate it with.

They snicker at one another’s flustered faces once she goes away -- giving them one last cheeky wink -- with their orders in hand. It breaks the tension and lightens the atmosphere, and they talk about whatever comes to mind until their food is served.

Noctis convinces Prompto to get dessert. Not that he’d really be able to say no; the food is almost as good as Ignis’, and Noctis’ smile is so soft and happy that he could ask Prompto to kill a man and he’d do it without hesitation.

Prompto swallows down the urge to lean in and taste the strawberry icing right from Noctis’ lips together with the next bite of his own slice, enthralled by the way his eyes crinkle at the corners when he laughs. Once their plates are clean and the bill is paid, they say their goodbyes and exit the restaurant.

Biting his lip, Prompto steels his nerves and reaches for Noctis’ hand on the short walk to the car, lacing their fingers together and squeezing gently. Noctis grins at him, squeezing back, and Prompto has to look down at his feet to check if he’s still touching the ground, ‘cause it certainly feels like he isn’t.

The ride back to Prompto’s house isn’t nearly as awkward. The silence feels comfortable this time around, and he can’t stop watching Noctis and just _grinning_ like the lovesick fool that he is.

When Noctis parks in front of his house, Prompto whines internally, unwilling for the night to end. They watch each other for a couple charged moments, biting lips and wringing hands and gravitating closer without being really aware of doing so.

“Can I--” Noctis starts to ask, but Prompto interrupts him before he can finish.

“Gods, yes, please--”

They meet in the middle, with Noctis’ hand going to cup Prompto’s cheek and Prompto’s own hand going to clutch at his shoulder for support and dear life.

It’s _bliss_ , it’s perfect, everything Prompto had been waiting for and _more_ \-- because this is reality, it’s _Noctis_ there kissing him back, it’s finally not just another fantasy and he can’t help the little pleased noise he makes.

And when Noctis goes to pull away, Prompto follows as if pulled by magnetism or by gravity, and they kiss again and again and again until Prompto’s halfway onto the driver’s side and Noctis is chuckling against his lips.

“Stop laughing at me,” Prompto says, parting just enough to be able to see his face properly. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.”

Noctis smiles wide and kisses him again, making Prompto whine and follow when he pulls back and brings their foreheads together, with their breaths mingling in the middle. Prompto sighs and rubs their noses together, causing Noctis to laugh some more.

“We’ll just have to keep kissing until we make it up for that, right?” he asks, pecking Prompto’s lips one, twice, thrice--

“It’s gonna take a lot of kisses,” Prompto hums in between said kisses.

Noctis chuckles and Prompto leans in more. It comes to a point in which Prompto has to put a hand on Noctis’ thigh to support himself or else he’ll lose his balance, and Noctis won’t stop laughing at him.

“I’d invite you for an impromptu sleepover, but I gotta be up early tomorrow to run some errands and that won’t happen if you stay,” Prompto says, tone clearly regretful.

“If I go, we’ll just start texting as soon as I get home and you’ll go to sleep late anyway,” Noctis grins.

Prompto narrows his eyes at him.

“And if I stay we could cuddle and kiss more until we fall asleep,” Noctis adds.

“You make such a convincing argument,” Prompto whines. “Alright, sleepover it is.”

Noctis snickers and parks on the driveway proper. They hold hands on the way to the front door and fill the empty, silent house with their giggles and low voices. Prompto lets Noctis borrow some of his sleep clothes and they settle down on his bed, legs intertwined and arms securely around each other.

They talk and kiss and laugh until it’s impossible to keep their eyes open, and then Prompto burrows on Noctis’ chest and they fall asleep together, finally able to cuddle.

 

x

 

It’s interesting to notice what changes and what doesn’t, now that they are boyfriends as well as best friends.

They hadn’t cared much about being considerably close in a physical sense in years, but the relationship adds another layer onto that, causing them to become even more comfortable around each other. There’s an influx of hugs, hand-holding, and countless kisses.

One prediction of Prompto’s holds true: Noctis adores tracing his freckles, be it with his fingertips or his lips. Whenever he becomes bored with whatever it is that they had been doing, he’ll turn to Prompto’s shoulders or arms and start counting, drawing patterns and discovering constellations.

But the fact that they are now -- _finally_ \-- dating doesn’t change the way they’ll compete at videogames, throwing curses and shoving the other to try to get the upper hand, though it does change what they do to make up after it’s done. It doesn’t change the way they’ll sing and dance around the apartment while listening to a song that has been deemed _cringy_ by the populace, screaming and laughing at one another and enjoying the silliness of it all.

And the aspects that _do_ change, do so for the better -- like how Noctis will simply open his arms whenever Prompto enters the room, a wordless invitation for some cuddling and possibly a nap. When Prompto starts to head to his usual futon after a long night of dungeon crushing, Noctis whines and pulls on his arm until he surrenders to the soft black sheets and the warmth that his boyfriend provides.

And then there are the times in which their eyes meet and Prompto feels a surge of _love_ and care and affection just bubble up on his chest, expanding in size until it fills his entire body. Whenever it happens, Prompto takes a moment to thank his lucky stars for the fact that Noctis _likes him back_ before either leaning in for a kiss or chucking a pillow at Noctis’ face.

They take a few days to discover all of this before making plans on how to tell their friends. Prompto feels that simply saying it without any fanfare wouldn’t do justice to all the pining they had to endure.

Snickers fill the room when they break the news to Ignis and Gladio, via a photo of them kissing that Prompto sends in their group chat. Ignis is the first to respond, with a single-worded text -- _finally_ , it says -- followed by Gladio spamming them with texts thanking each of the Six in turn and also Eos that they had figured it out at least.

Prompto sends the same photo to Cindy, who congratulates them heartily and thanks Noctis for having the initiative once they tell her how the first kiss went.

The next one to know is Luna. Noctis drags Prompto to the couch with him and initiates a video call -- which starts with a loud-pitched squeal, courtesy of Luna. Prompto once again is reminded of how utterly sweet and admirable she is and spends most of it smiling at Noctis and her talking. She makes a valiant effort to engage him as well, but Prompto is a touch too shy and still ashamed of the jealousy he felt towards her, so all he does is blush and stutter.

She finishes the call with a promise that they _will_ become friends by the time she goes back to Tenebrae next year.

They tell Regis in one of his biweekly dinners with Noctis. The man laughs jovially, telling them he had hoped such a thing would happen and that they make a lovely pair. He keeps going even though both boys are face-down on the table to hide their blushes.

Regis also tells Prompto that he’s considered him part of the family for years now, and Prompto almost dissolves into honoured tears. Regis’ smile becomes nostalgic and a bit sad when they tell him about Biagotti’s, and how the staff still remembers him and Aulea. He expresses an interest in returning there -- for the memories if nothing else -- and they agree to eventually decide on a day to do so.

Iris squeals at them through texts once Gladio tells her the news as well, and they laugh at her enthusiasm and thank her for the well-wishes.

Although it’s a bit keysmash-inducing to see how their friends react to the long-awaited shift in their relationship, it’s also considerably heartwarming to receive their support and congratulations.

“They can be a pain in our asses sometimes, but they’re still the best,” Noctis says when the matter comes up, without looking up from his phone.

“They’re little shits, but then again so are we -- which seriously makes sense, when you think about it. Like attracts like, and all that jazz,” Prompto ponders.

“I’d rather you think about the boss we gotta kill right now, though,” Noctis reminds him with a quick side-eyed glance.

“Aye aye sir, asskicking mode has been activated,” Prompto says and both of them snicker before focusing on their phone screens once again.

 

x

 

Around a week after the semester begins, Prompto decides to head over to Noctis’ instead of going home once the day’s classes are done. He’d be willing to bet that his blush still hasn’t faded, coloring even his shoulders in blotchy red, and there’s a magazine attempting to burn a hole through his bag -- a finishing touch to the whole picture he must be making.

He isn’t sure how he’ll acquire the courage necessary to show up for that same class next week, but that is a problem for future him. Present him just wants to find somewhere to hide until the disbelief diminishes, and Noctis’ apartment is conveniently close, with the obvious bonus of housing his boyfriend.

He all but slams the door open, immediately calling Noctis’ name. The answering noise comes from the living room, so that’s where he heads, finding Noctis with the perfect deer-in-the-headlights look, sitting halfway up on the sofa.

Prompto sets his bag down on the coffee table and takes a throw pillow to cover his face with as Noctis recovers from the surprise and starts to run a soothing hand on his back.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Noctis asks, concerned.

Prompto opens his mouth but the words refuse to come out; his brain is too preoccupied with keyshmashing to form _sentences_ , so he scrambles for the magazine and thrusts it into Noctis’ hands without lifting his head from the pillow.

There’s the sound of pages turning, fast at first and then slowing once his boyfriend finds the section he had been looking for. Once he sees It, he lets out a loud ‘ _yes!_ ’, setting the mag aside to hug Prompto.

“I knew it! I told you your photo was good enough, Prom!” he exclaims, ecstatic, and kisses Prompto’s temple.

Prompto mumbles something unintelligible into the pillow, and Noctis quiets down a little once he doesn’t get the expected reaction.

“What is it, Prom?” he asks, brushing blonde hair away from Prompto’s face with a gentle caress.

“My teacher used it as an example,” Prompto says. “She brought the magazine to class and passed it around, saying that the rest should do as I did and send their work to contests and compillations and stuff ‘cause one never knows if they’ll be accepted or not.”

Noctis grimaces. “That explains why you’re like this, yeah. But hey,” he says, looping his arms around Prompto’s shoulders and shaking him lightly to draw his attention. “I’m hella proud of you, dude. Now I can say that my boyfriend has had his work published on Lucian Geographic,” he grins.

“Nooooct,” Prompto whines. “I don’t even know how to deal with this yet-- my mind is like, just static right now. All I’ve got is disbelief and a more than fair amount of shock.”

“The happiness will come eventually, even if I have to glue the page with your photo all over the walls to help you with the believing part.”

Prompto nearly chokes on his own spit at the mental image that sentence invokes. “ _Please_ don’t,” he says.

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Noctis grins.

“I hate you.”

“That aside-- do you want a distraction or something?”

“If you don’t mind, yeah,” Prompto smiles, grateful. “I gotta say that I have a preference, however: lots and lots of kisses,” he adds as smile becomes a grin.

“What a coincidence, that’s my favorite method,” Noctis grins back, throwing the small pillow back to the couch and leaning in to put the distraction plan into action.

He brings Prompto closer with an arm around his waist, other hand sinking into blonde locks as the rest of the world fades out of focus. Prompto melts into the touch, letting the surge of feelings consume him until his mind is blissfully free of all thoughts that aren’t about Noctis.

They quiet down some minutes later, sighing happily and shifting closer still.

“Oh,” Noctis says a little later. “I forgot-- I have some news that will cheer you up,” he smiles.

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Remember our talk about a road trip?” Noctis asks, waiting for Prompto’s nod before continuing. “I talked with Gladio and Specs, and they liked the idea, which means it’s pretty much confirmed to happen,” he grins widely.

Prompto draws away a bit to stare properly, mouth falling open. “For real??”

“For real, buddy. Ignis even started talking about routes already.”

Excitement floods his senses and Prompto stands up to yell and run around the living room, leaving a laughing Noctis still on the floor in front of the sofa. He kneels in front of his boyfriend when the feeling goes back to manageable levels, initiating a deep kiss to show his gratitude.

“Thank you thank you thank you,” he chants, continuously pecking Noctis’ smiling lips.

“If this is what the promise of a trip gets me, I’ll have to plan some more,” Noctis says, eyes almost twinkling with his mirth, snickering when Prompto gives him a butterfly kiss.

“You already have infinite kisses, what more do you want?”

“I’ll have to think about it,” Noctis hums, pulling Prompto onto his lap. “‘Cause you see, everything I could ask, you already give me.”

“Well then, keep the trips comin’ and when you do think about something, just let me know. Want me to get rid of a body? I’ll do it,” he smirks.

“I see how it is,” Noctis laughs. “You only love me for the places I can get you into and the photo ops I can provide. How cold,” he jokes, voice almost catching on the _word_.

They haven’t used that word yet -- _love_ , that is. Oh, they’re in tune enough that there’s no doubt that it’s the word for how they feel, but to use it out loud is an entirely different thing. Leave it to them to have the first mention of it be as part of a joke, too; to be quite honest. Prompto wouldn’t have it any other way.

Still, said sentiment is bubbling up in his chest, robbing him of the ability to continue the teasing. Instead, what comes out is sweet honesty.

“I love you for all that you are, have been, and will be,” Prompto says, slow and soft, reverent. Noctis stares wide-eyed at him for a moment, cheeks reddening.

Prompto can’t even find it in himself to be embarrassed by what he had said, simply watching as his boyfriend absorbs it. His smile grows when Noctis hides his face in Prompto’s collarbone, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

The next thing he feels is hands gripping his thighs and holding him in place as Noctis stands and brings Prompto with him. The sudden movement rips a squeal out of him, and he has to admit to being impressed by strength such a movement must have required as he places his arms around Noctis’ shoulders for support.

Noctis twirls him around, making Prompto laugh, loud and free.

“You’re forgiven,” Noctis says once Prompto’s feet are back on the floor. They sway in place, foreheads resting together sweetly. “Right back at you, sunshine,” he whispers into the space between their mouths -- a space that disappears soon after, courtesy of Prompto.

“We’re such saps,” Prompto laughs, half a dozen kisses later.

“Mm yeah, but we’re each other’s saps. Can’t complain, to be honest,” he grins, after another half-dozen have been shared.

“Better together?”

Noctis grins. “Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have _so many_ thanks to give. My beta, YukiYashaH, was real amazing to beta this monster lmao. MagitekUnit05953234, NekoAisu, candiedillusions and tons of others were the best possible cheerleaders for me as I was writing this, through all the doubt and excitement and ages of planning, lol. I love yall, friendos  <3
> 
> Many thanks as well to all of you who have read and commented, you have been giving me some much-needed happiness in bleak, tired times <3
> 
> I'm @thefiresofmustafar on tumblr, and I'm already working on my next project if anyone is interested -- a hocus pocus au, featuring Noctis as the cat (obviously) and NO DYING! :3


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